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NEWS
COVER
OCTOBER SCREENING OF GLEN CAMPBELL’S ‘I’LL BE ME’ DOCUMENTARY
To raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease as well as Immanuel Lutheran Communities’ (ILC) plans to build an innovative assisted-living memory care facility in the Flathead Valley, the ILC will host a screening of Glen Campbell’s ‘I’ll Be Me’ documentary on Oct. 24.
The screening will take place at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish, with a musical performance from Campbell’s daughter, Ashley Campbell. There will be a pre-event meet and greet with Ashley Campbell for sponsors.
The event will include auction items, hors d’oeuvres, and a hosted bar.
Proceeds from the event will help fund the Memory Garden at the new facility, and will also benefit the Memory Care Fund at ILC.
For more information about the screening, including sponsorship and benefits, visit www.ilcorp.org or contact Ronalee Skees at 406-752-9243.
DEMENTIA AND ALZHEIMER’S RESOURCES
10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s
• Memory loss that disrupts daily life
• Challenges in planning or solving prob- lems
•Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure
• Confusion with time or place
• Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
• New problems with words in speaking or writing
• Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
• Decreased or poor judgment
• Withdrawal from work or social activities
• Changes in mood and personality COURTESY OF THE ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION
The Alzheimer’s Association www.alz.org
24/7 Helpline: 1-800-272-3900
Flathead County Agency on Aging www.flathead.mt.gov/aging 406-758-5730
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Senior and Long Term Care
www.dphhs.mt.gov/sltc.aspx 406-444-4077
Glenn and Helen Mueller and their three daughters. COURTESY PHOTO
away from Glenn anymore, and about two months into her stay she transitioned to a wheelchair.
Now that he is so familiar with demen- tia, Glenn says he sees it everywhere.
“Many of the ladies that I’ve talked to (at the Terrace) have gone through what I’m going through now,” he says.
And even through his teary eyes and pain-etched face, Glenn is relent- lessly positive about the life they shared together. It was good, he says.
“Why she ever married me I’m not sure,” Glenn says. “I’m glad she did. She
group focused on addressing the needs of caregivers.
The idea is to assess how demen- tia-friendly Flathead County is, Wilton said, and then identify improvement areas.
Last week, the group, made up of care- givers and the people they care for, went on an outing to Lone Pine State Park. Another idea is to have a café for caregiv- ers and their charges, where unexpected outbursts or other behaviors are OK.
“It gets embarrassing to eat or go out for coffee when you’re never sure what they’re going to say,” Wilton said. “There’s some stigma attached.”
Ideally, the county would become one where public service employees like the police are better able to identify demen- tia-related behaviors, so the caregivers and those suffering the dementia can leave what usually ends up being isola- tion at home and participate in the com- munity once more.
“Physically, oftentimes they’re super healthy, so they don’t need to be locked in a house, but that isolation sometimes happens because there’s not a safe place to be,” Wilton said. “And, if it’s not work- ing at home anymore, we want to provide a safe residential place.”
Fundraising for the project continues, and Wilton expects groundbreaking on the new memory-care facility by spring 2016.
On Oct. 24, Immanuel Lutheran will host a private screening of “I’ll Be Me,” a documentary following famed musician Glen Campbell and his family through his journey with Alzheimer’s.
Following the documentary screen- ing, Campbell’s daughter, Ashley Camp- bell, will perform music.
Proceeds raised from the October screening will support the building of the Memory Garden at the new facility, and benefit the Memory Care Fund at the
elen is asleep before Glenn can give her any of the hot choc- olate. She spends most of her
wI
Communities serve as one of the largest and most comprehensive memory care facilities in the area. But more services are needed, Carla Wilton, executive director at the assisted living center Buffalo Hills Terrace, said.
“Our plans are to build assisted-living memory care facilities,” Wilton said. “As the numbers are exploding over the next years, there’s just going to be an ongoing increased need for both community pro- grams that assist caregivers at home, as well as residential placement.”
Home caregivers experience huge drains in emotional, financial, physical, and mental resources. Wilton, along with Flathead County Agency on Aging and A Plus Health Care, started a community
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as a sharp lady, she really was.”
n Kalispell, the Immanuel Lutheran
time asleep, he says, which is probably a blessing. Another blessing is that she still seems to recognize her daughters and grandchildren.
As for him, Glenn jokes that Helen likely thinks an old man is trying to feed her, but while he wheedles the spoon into her mouth, she looks at him – really looks, not just idly gazing the way she does at most everything else – her eyes wide and clear, trusting and gentle.
Most of what made Helen Helen may have slipped away, but her love for Glenn remains, as easy to see as the sun in the sky on a bluebird day.
She’s Helen, his Helen.
[email protected]
mmanuel Lutheran Communities.
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JULY 15, 2015 | FLATHEADBEACON.COM