Marginalia & Memory: Where we write our lives back to center.
She gazes into the mirror, her eyes locking onto mine through the reflection.
Softly, she asks,“You belong to me. You’re mine, aren’t you?
The Marginalia
The opening’s evocative question and striking poetic is one of many drawn from watershed moments across tables, doctor offices, car rides, plane rides, strolls and walks just living an ordinary life with extraordinary grace—through valleys and across mountaintops. There is value in each. Our journey of joy and angst led me to use marginalia inside books, journals, memos, receipts, menus, magazine articles, church bulletins—anything and everything—digital or physical that held our lives where home, happiness, health and humor could reside, momentarily. Where centering the narrative came with lots of writing and unfathomable actions in the name of loving. What reflection or image comes to mind of a defining connection with your loved one? Write your short stories or poems. Or a picture of an image that defines that moment. Share them with us on Anderson Magazine fb: From Marginalia to Center, with love.
The Call
Calling all color purple wearers! Time to act on dementia. Time to act on Alzheimer’s. In a themed call to action, World Alzheimer’s Month 2024 organizers challenge those who are impacted and those who provide caregiver services and respite, those in the health and wellness fields to act. Action, of care and services for and delivered to rural and underserved communities. Now is the time to make the strangeness of dementia more familiar and friendly, even. It’s a tough topic rife with myths, cautionary tales and challenges. Yet it can be handled in palpable pieces to consume and savor in its individual and collective parts. Foothills Community Health Care (FCHC), behavioral specialist, notes, “It is vital for the community as a whole to learn about symptoms, treatment options, and how to seek services for the overall wellbeing of the community and individuals in it.” Mending Hearts Initiative, Executive Director, Tinisha Pender, emphasizes, “We find that many people still don’t want to talk about these issues and how it impacts us. This stigma makes it more difficult for people to get the help they need. It often exacerbates their struggles and hinders effective treatment.”
The Awareness
In 2024, over 4 million people will turn 65. Growing awareness of dementia and Alzheimer’s is needed with more boomers and Gen Xers impacted, daily. This past spring, I attended a celebration of life memorial for a 53 year-old who had Alzheimer’s and an array of health issues. FCHC behavioral specialist asserts, “Patients are embarrassed or reluctant to seek help due to hearing messages from family or friends it means they are weak, and the patients think they are supposed to be able to deal with it on their own. The strategies that have helped address these challenges is asking direct questions about their mental health while seeing a primary care provider, using screening tools and providing education and counseling onsite.” According to the World Alzheimer’s Association, in terms of education, “…it’s a challenge to why so many people still wrongly believe that dementia is a part of normal aging.” This misconception signifies needed calls to action and public awareness campaigns. And we, daughters and sons, partners and spouses, caregivers and others have had to move from dated terms like, senile even as we jested about our own forgetfulness or absent-mindedness. Dementia. The word has conjured cognitive decay beyond normal aging considerations. We all have walked into a room with purpose only to forget why we entered the room. The difference for those with dementia is if they notice the object, its use might escape them. Simple activities of daily living (ADL) such as brushing one’s teeth, fixing a cup of tea, feeding pets, taking medications and much more can become taxing and potentially unsafe. Caring for loved ones with eyes wide open to safety, financial, spiritual and quality of life issues while keeping their dignity intact: promising practices. And a little sass and grace hewn inside of tough—yet, warm and tender love.
The Resources & Materials
Exploring services and resources offered by a range of youth-facing and family-centered organizations and resources to educate and support clients, patrons and libraries under the aegis of Upstate community-facing organizations that serve as cornerstones are meeting the call for action. Through their outreach efforts that include workshops, mobile and a range of interfacing efforts Anderson County Library (ACL), Foothills Community Health Care and Mending Hearts Initiative (MHI) provide a closer look at resources, materials and insights to address shared challenges and increase community awareness and programming. MHI co-founder, Shantell Cox, shares how they create a safe, confidential space for our clients to process their struggles and grief support for those in need of the services. “We’ve found that being our authentic selves as therapists allows our clients to be true to themselves and honest about where they are. Clients want relatability, consistency, and empathy as well as guidance and honesty.”
The ACL Extension Program’s, Dani Lubsen, shares how patrons in long-term-care and elder care facilities have a keen interest in outreach. They are particularly drawn to crafting kits, “armchair travel” activity kits, and thematic content kits. These kits, created in-house, include brain games, puzzles, de-accessioned fiction and non-fiction, as well as specially designed crafting materials for ease of use by individuals with varying abilities. They offer an array of resources, such as busy bottles and brain games that can be found in ACL catalog.https://scsl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/acl/search/results?qu=%22busy+bottles%22&te=&lm=COUNTY_LIBS_ACL, and here: https://scsl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/acl/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fSD_ILS$002f0$002fSD_ILS:1212604/one?qu=%22brain+games+kit%22&lm=COUNTY_LIBS_ACL.
Stay tuned for the Community Health & Wellness Fair on Saturday, October 19, 2024, from 11 am – 3 pm at the Anderson Main Library.
Resources for Alzheimer’s and Suicide Prevention & Awareness
Local and National websites/emails:
Additionally, an Alzheimer’s infographic provides a widened lens to its state-by-state impact. See contact information & link: Helpline at 800.272.3900 https://www.alz.org/media/Documents/southcarolina-alzheimers-facts-figures-2024.pdf
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