A Mari de Villa resident recently celebrated her 90th birthday with a large group of family and friends in the new Waterford Room private party suite, overlooking the same sparkling lake her mother did 30 years ago.

If the good Lord were to give me one perfect day, it would be to have my father back, and the two of us would head to Busch Stadium for Opening Day. Alzheimers took him from us six years ago. The disease may destroy memories, but it won't erase a single second of the time the two of us spent at the ballpark together.

For 2013, Circle Of Concern elected new directors, officers and executive directors: president NANCY PARKER, VP DOUG SCHAEFFLER, treasurer ROD BISHOP, secretary CALVIN HOLDERBY. New directors are SUE HOFFMAN, HARRY LEMAY, JUNE SCHROEDER and GREG SHOEMAKER. CHRIS PALLOZOLA was promoted to executive director.

Helping older adults transition from drivers to passengers can be a sensitive topic. “The loss of independence is what they fear most,” notes Mark Blum of BrightStar Care.

Clue to Alzheimer’s Found in Brain Samples

Alzheimer’s disease is a slow decline. Most people who develop it survive for years after diagnosis, gradually losing memory and the ability to care for themselves. Families and caregivers can become overwhelmed. Fortunately, help is available.

Among the concerns of older Americans, Alzheimer’s disease tops the list. And that’s understandable. Researchers are making strides in understanding Alzheimer’s, but a cure remains elusive for the progressive, memory-robbing disease.

Friendship Village

Saturday 8

Peggy Ross moved into The Gatesworth more than two years ago because she needed help caring for her husband, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. “I came because I needed help, but I stayed because it’s such a wonderful place to live,” she says. And the change of setting didn’t mean the 20-year supporter of The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis was going to give up on her passion of making education accessible. “I’ve been doing it for a long time, and I’ll keep going as long as I can,” she says.

Watching a loved one slip into oblivion can be painful to the point of despair. Yet Jolene Brackey, author of Creating Moments of Joy, says there’s another way to experience time with someone who has Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. Brackey’s work is based on her experiences as activity director for an Alzheimer’s special care unit, and she recently spoke at Garden View Care Centers in St. Louis to share her message that “it’s impossible to create a perfectly wonderful day, but you sure can create perfectly wonderful moments.”

It’s not easy to watch a loved one grow old, and for the families of people with dementia, it’s heartbreaking. It’s hard to know what to say and do as a relative becomes increasingly forgetful and unable to perform daily tasks without help. Fortunately, caregivers and loved ones are not alone: In 2008, there were an estimated 9.9 million caregivers providing 8.5 billion hours of care to Alzheimer’s patients, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

RESEARCHERS TO STUDY TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR HIGH-RISK LUNG CANCER PATIENTS

Maryville Talks Books, the signature author series from MARYVILLE UNIVERSITY, kicks off this month with actress/ singer VANESSA WILLIAMS and her mother, HELEN WILLIAMS. The pair will appear on May 10 at Christ Church Cathedral for a discussion and signing of their book, You Have No Idea. The rest of the lineup includes former Democratic presidential candidate BILL BRADLEY (May 11), sportswriter FRANK DEFORD (May 30), author and historian DOUGLAS BRINKLEY (June 4) and Friday Night Lights and Three Nights in August author BUZZ BISSINGER (June 11). Except for the Williams event, all other appearances take place at Maryville University Auditorium and are free and open to the public. Ticket packages for the Williams event are $30, and include seating for two, as well as a copy of the book (brownpapertickets.com).

Your teeth are nothing without your gums. Healthy gums support teeth that tend to stay firmly fixed in place. But that’s not the only reason to ensure your gums stay healthy.

Just like so many, when Jane Snyder’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, she and her family lived through years of denial before accepting the diagnosis. And when the realization finally happened, the Ladue native became proactive in her relationship with her mother, searching for ways to hold onto the connection.

AUTISM

I have been waiting for this movie all summer. We all remember Charleton Heston crash landing on that mysterious planet where apes are our cruel overlords, only to discover that he’s on a future Earth. What happened? How did the apes take over? Why do they wear those strange robes? So many questions. Well, now we have our answer…and it’s a good one.