Thursday, September 18, 2008

Sept. 21st is World Alzheimer's Day

Letter from The Alzheimer's Association:

Dear Ricardo,

Our heartfelt thanks go out to all who took part in our World Alzheimer's Day Matching Gift Challenge, and made it such a resounding success!

We raised over $500,000 to help us advance our mission to fight Alzheimer's disease. If you donated during the Challenge, thank you. If not, you can still make a generous gift to the Alzheimer's Association to help us do even more to realize our dream of a world without Alzheimer's disease!

Ricardo, World Alzheimer's Day only comes once a year on September 21, but our fight against this terrible disease goes on every day… We need your generous support to help us do even more to bring about additional Alzheimer research, enhanced care and support programs and increased advocacy and awareness.

So please, send a generous gift today and join our fight to defeat Alzheimer's, the sixth leading cause of death in America

Thanks again for answering our urgent plea in commemoration of World Alzheimer's Day on September 21, when the world comes together to voice concern and need for more vital Alzheimer research and essential support programs and services, and to spread awareness and demand action against this devastating disease.

Sincerely,
Angela Geiger
Vice President
Alzheimer's Association

Friday, September 12, 2008

Ric's Linked-In Profile

View Ricardo Gomez-Roji's profile on LinkedIn

Dogs, Birds, Horses & More

My father, Jesus, loves animals; he has as long as I can remember. A few months ago I bought him a couple of lovebirds; we named them Jesus and Blanca (in honor of my Pop and my late mother). In addition, we have two dogs,a chihuahua mix named: Canelo and a Schnauzer named Rusky.

Canelo is nine years old; which makes him a senior citizen in dog years. While Rusky is barely past three; which makes him an energetic teenager (in dog years).

Watching my father with his menagerie of pets makes me a firm believer in the therapeutic benefits of owning pets. Dad enjoys talking to his animals. And, I could swear that they understand him. He whistles alongside the birds during the afternoon hours. I even think that the birds look forward to their whistling sessions as they tend to follow his movements along their cage. It is quite a whimsical site.

The dogs are another matter. You see, the two dogs do NOT get along. Since we cannot get rid of neither canine (Canelo was my Mom's dog who was at her side at the San Diego Hospice when she passed away) and Rusky is just too darn adorable and attached to Pop; well giving either one away is just out of the question. The solution has been to segregate them from one another. Rusky owns the fenced in backyard; while Canelo resides in the also fenced-in front yard. They are, therefore, equal but separate (literally).

Meanwhile the birds reside in our very fancy garage (it has flooring, cabinets, even a pianola - quite nice); yet, if it is sunny, the cage hangs just outside by the garage door. My father likes to read the paper sitting in that area to hear the lovebirds sing; which they do enthusiastically on a daily basis.

Canelo, the Senior, is extremely mellow and is quite content to sleep as much as possible; taking a break now and again to eat and to rub against my pop's legs (I think that he thinks that he is a cat).

On the other hand, Rusky, the teenager, is tireless and obsessed with fetching his tennis ball to the point that I have to take it away from him to give us a rest. Rusky loves to play golf-fetch; where the ball is hit by a golf club, chased down by him and then he returns it exactly to the point where the ball was hit from.

My father loves all of these animal interactions; and he enjoys relating these stories to visitors and strangers alike. Truly, truly I feel that it helps him use his cognitive abilities in a better manner than he would if we didn't have the dogs and the birds.

In addition, my friends own the Happy Trails Horse Ranch near Border Beach. It is a five acre spread with more than fifty horses that are available for rentals. My Pop and I try to get there at least once a week. He enjoys feeding the horses carrots and such.

Bottom line: I truly believe that beyond medications and physical therapy; animals release a sort of invisible energy that Alzheimer's patients absorb in a very positive manner. I can literally see it in my father's eyes. He enjoys it; so I enjoy it.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

David Hyde Pierce's recent CBS interview about Alzheimer's

This is an important Early Show Interview on CBS: Actor David Hyde Pierce talks about the devastating effect that Alzheimer's has on the family and the importance of spreading awareness during an election year. Maggie Rodriguez reports.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Things Are Not Always What They Appear

"Judge not, lest ye be judged..." is one most important and probably best known of the many quotes from the Bible. Yet, apparently in our modern day American culture; judging others has almost become an institutionalized form of behaving.

Judging other people's morals, lifestyles, behaviour, and so forth has become the norm. In reality, things are not always what they appear. Giving our family, neighbors and friends the benefit of the doubt has become the exception, rather than the rule.

Taking care of my father, Jesus, has greatly enlightened me as to how other people can be extremely judgemental. For example, most of my aunts on my father's side of the family (he has seven sisters) are in extreme denial as to his Alzheimer's situation. Some deny that he has it at all. They think this regardless of all of the medical evaluations that he has had during the course of these past eighteen months.

Funny enough, they all profess to be serious Catholics, yet rather than demonstrating compassion towards me as his caregiver, they demonstrate devout sarcasm. They judge me for how I take care of my Pop.

I find this most ironic since very few of them have actually found it in their hearts to find the time to visit us to see how we live and how I actually do take care of him. Instead they base their "judgements" on hearsay and innuendo.

Oh yes, they are very, very Catholic. After all, anyone can read the Bible and do the Rosary, yet it takes more; it takes having respect for others, it takes having a bit of compassion and it takes treating people with the dignity that we all deserve. It is said, actions speak louder than words.

Moreover, I have always tried to please my aunts in many diverse ways. Obviously, no one is perfect. Yet, aging and bitterness are no excuse for not actually practicing Catholic virtues; especially if you profess to be a "practicing Catholic" (see the irony).

Please note that some of my aunts have been very supportive, but most have not.