Remembering the Forgotten at Christmas – Arbor House Christmas Party 2017
Alzheimer’s is a horrible disease. Our family knows this first hand. Both my mother, who is currently in a memory care center, and my mother-in-law who passed away in 2007 are and were victims of this disease. It slowly effects the brain robbing it of the memories of a lifetime.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, one in ten people age 65 and older (10 percent) has Alzheimer’s dementia. Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women. Five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. One in three senior adults will die from Alzheimer’s or some other dementia related disease, and it is the sixth leading cause of death.
Additionally, Alzheimer’s takes a devastating toll on the 15 million caregivers, many family members. Compared with caregivers of people without dementia, twice as many caregivers of those with dementia indicate substantial emotional, financial and physical difficulties.
Though there is currently no cure, their is hope! We are grateful for the Alzheimer’s Association which we support. You too can give the gift of hope this holiday season by donating financially to this wonderful organization. https://www.alz.org Also you can give hope by volunteering at a local memory care center.
For us Arbor House Memory Care Center of Lewisville is a mere 185 steps from our front door. We along with our neighborhood have adopted the residents living here along with the staff and care givers. They are our neighbors. Weekly we engage with them through visits, friendship, singing, music, reading, church services, painting toe nails (yes really :)) and lots of fun!
As part of loving our neighbors well, each Christmas for the past four years we along with the staff at Arbor House (thanks Dawn & Kristen) have hosted a Christmas party. It’s lots of fun and we invite not only the residents and staff, but their families as well.
Yesterday was our 2017 edition of Christmas at Arbor House. It was a full house and by the time we left — our hearts were full of joy to have been a small part in bringing hope to our friends living there.
Merry Christmas and remember, to be part of the hope of the world, which is serving others in the name of the one who came to give hope — Jesus.
Be the hope,
Jim & Sharon
