Panel of Local Women from LIAF Support Group Present at "Coping and Caring" Conference

For nearly half-an-hour the crowd in the Crest Hollow Country Club ballroom sat in hushed silence, as Marilyn Ward, Jennie LoJacono, and Maxine Atkins shared their experiences as family caregivers.  Some in the audience nodded as Marilyn and Maxine discussed the challenges of adjusting to their husbands' dementias and many dabbed tears from their eyes as Jennie shared the sorrow of a mother watching her daughter's decline into the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease.  Through their words, as well as their united presence on stage, the women shared with the audience the tremendous support, friendship and camaraderie they have found in one another during this most challenging of life's journeys.

The three women are participants in LIAF's Dix Hills Caregiver Support Group.  Together with the group's facilitator, Alana Rosenstein, LMSW, they offered the audience a unique look at the emotional intimacy and practical guidance available in LIAF's support groups. 

Slowly audience members began to raise their hands -- first to thank the women for the honesty and courage of their presentation, and then to share their own experiences as family and professional caregivers.  One woman shared her struggle to feel valued in her role as caregiver.  Another asked the panel's advice in addressing her mother's agitated and sometimes aggressive behavior.  The panelists responded with warmth and understanding, allowing the questioners to experience the validation and group strength that support groups can provide.

 If you would lilke more information about LIAF support groups, please call (516) 767-6856.

Founder Janet B. Walsh describes the "Beginnings" of LIAF

I have been involved with raising awareness for Alzheimer's disease since 1985. It's not that I chose to be an advocate -- I really had no choice. Twenty-two years ago very few people had as much experience with Alzheimer's as I did, that were in a position to "get the word out."

My grandparents came to live with us when I was 5 years old. Soon afterward, it became apparent that Sarah (my grandmother) wasn't herself. Back then we referred to this type of dementia as "senility." In my neighborhood of Queens, it seemed like everyone at one time had a grandparent who had lost their memory. My grandmother was cared for by my parents and sisters, and not one of us thought this was an unrealistic task until she became bedridden. I did what I could to help, and increased my reading skills as I sat by grandma's hospital bed -- which now occupied our small dining room. I think it was the love I experienced for my grandmother that endeared me to the elderly. Uncles and aunts would come to visit her; after all, Sarah raised nine children while working as a superintendent of the brownstone where they lived in Yorkville, Manhattan.