Group raises Alzheimer’s awareness

CNS Editor | 11/09/2015

(L-R) Deputy District Administrator Mark Tibbetts and Minister for District Administration Moses Kirkconnell at the Cayman Brac memory walk

(CNS): The Alzheimer’s and Dementia Association of the Cayman Islands (ADACI) kicked off the September start of World Alzheimer’s Month with a special church service at St. George’s Anglican Church on Sunday, 30 August.

Rev. Mary Graham delivered a sermon based on this year’s worldwide theme of “Remember Me”. She encouraged the congregation to stay strong when facing the challenges of caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

“Though our loved ones may have difficulty remembering us, or even their own selves, we must remember that persons with Alzheimer’s and other dementias continue to remain a part of us, our families and our community, and need our love and support,” she said.

ADACI then moved events to Cayman Brac with a presentation for the Seaman’s Association on Alzheimer’s by director and medical adviser, Dr Loraine Barnaby.

On Friday, 4 September, Minister for District Administration, Tourism and Transport Moses Kirkconnell and Deputy District Commissioner Mark Tibbetts joined about 30 people in a candlelight memory walk.

Kirkconnell thanked the participants for their support and shared his own family’s experience of the disease. “Unless you have really been involved with a loved one you never realise how much it means to come out and give your time to a support system like this,” he said.

The next day, Dr Barnaby gave a presentation on caring for those with Alzheimer’s, and recognising the signs and the various stages of the disease.

At a “Praise in Purple” church service on Sunday, 6 September at the Fellowship Baptist Church, members of the congregation dressed in purple in memory of family and loved ones that have had or continue to suffer from Alzheimer’s. The service was broadcast live on Radio Cayman.

ADACI chair Dorothy Davis said she was very pleased with the activities on Cayman Brac. “We were so happy to get the support of Minister Kirkconnell as well as the support of District Admin. While we did not have as many participating as we had hoped due to clashes with other community events, we are pleased that different people attended the various events and that we were able to reach a wider audience. We expect that next year we should have a lot more people attending,” she said.

Upcoming events on Grand Cayman for World Alzheimer’s Month:

“Dress Purple for a Cause” on Friday, 18 September
The Alzheimer’s presentation, dinner and social at South Sound Community Centre on Saturday, 19 September
“Praise in Purple” church service at the Wesleyan Holiness Church, West Bay, on Sunday, 20 September
Fire Service collection drive on World Alzheimer’s Day, Monday, 21 September
5K Memory run/walk at Smith Cove on Saturday, 26 September
A showing of the movie, “Still Alice”, on Wednesday, 30 September