On being reported to Adult Protective Services

I have been reported to Adult Protective Services. I was reported by the same social worker who wanted me to leave the hospital with Louella under the care of hospice. The same social worker who said, I ought to “let her go.”

I have hesitated to write this post. For one thing I have been so angry that I could not write about it without using profanity and I try not to use profanity, especially in my blog. I have felt indignant and and outraged. I have just now calmed down enough to where I can write and report about what happened.

The other reason I have hesitated is because some people close to me advised me against writing about it saying some people would believe the charge simply because it was made and it would harm my reputation. After considering that I thought, “What the heck.” I don’t have a career to worry about. I am not climbing the latter of success; I am coasting toward retirement. I don’t hold public office and have no plans to seek public office. I blog but don’t get paid for it, so I won’t lose any money. I don’t believe people who know me personally would believe it anyway and for those who want to believe the worst, let them. I have nothing to lose and I don’t care. As Kris Kristofferson said, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” I am free to speak my mind.

The only people I would rather not know about this revelation are Louella’s children but I don’t really care that much about that either. In any event, they have most likely already been notified. Her children have not even contacted her or inquired about their mother in over five years, ever since I caught them “gifting” themselves her wealth and robbing her blind and I had to sue them. If they want to cause me some grief; bring it on. Not caring enough to call or send a Mother’s Day card or birthday card or Christmas greeting in five years, I don’t think they want custody of their mother and I don’t think they are in any position to cause me grief. If Louella had of been under her children’s care for the last five years, she would have been abandoned in a nursing home and be dead by now.

I decided to write this post; one to vent, two in hopes that it will help someone else avoid what has happened to me, and three to make the point that being accused of something does not mean you are guilty of it.

It is hard not to personalize my ordeal and blame the social worker who caused it. When I have not been referring to the social worker who caused me this grief with impolite profanities and vulgar pejoratives, I have been referring to her as “Nurse Ratched.” She is not really a nurse however; she is a social worker working in the Behavioral Health unit of St. Thomas Hospital. When I don’t think of her as “Nurse Ratched,” I think of her as the “Gestapo Social Worker.” No doubt that is unfair. She is just a cog in the wheel of a dysfunctional health care system. She is just one of those people who justify the evil they do as, “just doing my job.” I don’t know, but I would bet, that if she does not turn in a certain number of people a week, she will be considered to be under performing. It must have just been my unlucky week.

The last six weeks has felt like I have been a character in a Kafka novel. In addition to the difficulty of getting Louella the health care she needed and being forced to take her to the emergency room when that was not what she really needed, and being told by the Gestapo Social Worker that I should just “let her go,” and being turned into Adult Protective Services, there have been various other minor bureaucratic annoyances that tend to add up.

While Louella was in the hospital, every Tuesday morning there was a meeting with me and her health care team which included the doctor, the head nurse, the Gestapo Social Worker, recreation director and another person or two. We would set around the table and they would talk about our objectives and Louella’s treatment plan. During one of these meetings, they say that I said something to the effect that when Louella was raging and not sleeping that I did whatever I had to do to calm her down. I don’t even recall saying that. They took it to mean I gave her excess doses of medicine or that I gave her medicine that was not prescribed. I have never given Louella medicine for which she did not have a prescription and I have never given her more than the prescribed dosage.

During Louella’s first full week in the hospital, following the first Tuesday morning health team meeting, the Gestapo Social Worker came to Louella’s room to talk to me. We must have talked for over an hour. I did not know it was a fishing expedition. I did not know it was an interrogation. I thought it was just a friendly chat and she was a sympathetic person and she was trying to help figure out Louella’s needs.

After I learned I was being reported to Adult Protective Services, I reflected back on my conversation with Nurse Ratched and I should have picked up that she was probing. I have been told by knowledgeable people that in situations like this that the social worker probably has notified Louella’s children that I have been reported to APS. During our long “conversation,” she asked me the names of Louella’s children, their ages, where they worked and where they lived. It did not dawn on me she was compiling data with a purpose in mind. I was naïve and blindsided.

During the full second week of Louella’s hospital stay, Sue, Louella’s care giver for over the last five and half years, returned from a vacation on a Tuesday. The Gestapo Social Worker and another person pulled Sue aside and started questioning her. At first Sue did not think much about it and then Sue became uncomfortable and realized she was being grilled. Sue was upset and said it seemed they were trying to get her to say that I was somehow abusive to Louella. When Sue realized what was going on, she terminated the meeting.

On the Thursday of Louella’s second full week in the hospital, the Gestapo Social Worker took me to a private office to go over several things related to Louella’s discharge. The first item of discussion was the arrangement that had been made for Louella to get under the care of a Psychiatrist when she left the hospital. The second was arrangements for home health care to serve Louella. The third item was the suggestion that I put Louella under the care of hospice and “let her go.” That is when it got tense and I told that that was not going to happened. I said, “Under hospice she could die from something as simple as a urinary tract infection. I am not going to let that happen.” She said, “Well you know she is dying, don't you?”

After that tense moment, she said, “The next thing is awkward to talk about, but I have referred Louella’s case to APS.” I did not know what APS was and asked what that was and she told me it was Adult Protective Services. I asked why, and she explained the suspicion that I was over sedating Louella and she said she had to report me to APS out of concern for Louella’s safety. Nurse Ratched apparently did not see the irony of point three being that it was time to “let her go,” and her trying to persuade me to do just let Louella die, and point four being that I had to be turned into Adult Protective Services because I may be endangering Louella’s safety.

APS has paid a surprise visit to my home. I let the young lady in and answered all her questions. She was respectful and pleasant. If however there is a follow up, I am not talking to anyone without my lawyer present. I have talked to my lawyer and he is standing by.

If you are ever in a group meeting of the kind I described or have a one-on-one conversation with a social worker, think about every single word you say before you say it. They can wait while you gather your thoughts. Think about how what you say could be misinterpreted and used against you. Choose your words carefully. If you must meet one-on-one with a social worker, keep in mind that it is not just a friendly chat to figure out how to best care for your loved one. The social worker is out to gather evidence to turn you in, in order to justify her job. The social worker is not your friend. The social worker is the enemy interrogator.

I have always had Louella’s best interest at heart. I would never do anything to harm her. If not for the care Sue and I have given her, she would have died on several occasions. I know her mind is mostly gone, but she is still “Louella,” an individual deserving of dignity and respect. She gets the best care possible and she is loved. It is the healthcare system that has failed Louella; not me.

I know that when one hears someone has been turned into Adult Protective Services or Child Protective Services or a woman has gotten an order of protection against her husband that many people assume the person reported must have something wrong. Many people think the person would not be accused if they had not. Often they have done nothing wrong. Being investigated or even being charged does not mean one is guilty of anything. Anyone can be investigated for or charged with anything.

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A St. Thomas Social Worker wants to kill Louella

“Kill” may be a little strong. The St. Thomas social worker did not say “kill;” she said “let her go.”

Sue and Louella on May 6, 2016
They share the same birthday of May 6th

People don’t like to use harsh words. In polite company one certainly does not say a woman killed her unborn baby; one does not even say, “she had an abortion.” People are most likely to say “she terminated the pregnancy,” or “took care of the problem.” In war we do not like to say a lot of civilians got killed, we say “there was collateral damage.” We even say we put the family dog to sleep. It is so much easier to put harsh reality into pleasant terms, but we all know what we really mean.

 Louella is my wife and has been suffering from dementia since at least 2004 when she was mistakenly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but has probably had dementia since 2001. Louella went into St. Thomas hospital recently on a Thursday. The only reason we put her in the hospital is that her new primary care doctor said he did not prescribe psychotropic drugs and we needed to have Louella seen by a doctor who could. I don’t know if  her doctor could not prescribe the drugs she needed or was not comfortable doing so, but in any event, he would not.


Louella had been experiencing periods of absolute rage. She would fuss at the top of her voice for up to two hours at a time, with her face red. There was no placating her, no comforting her, or calming her. Finally exhausted, she would calm down. When not in the full-on rage mode, she was agitated and unhappy most of the time. She had also had some sleepless and restless nights. This had been going on for about six weeks.

After our GP told us he would not renew her medicine, which had been prescribed by another doctor, we began trying to get her an appointment with a psychiatrist. (The “us” and “we” are Sue, her caregiver for the last five and half years, and me.) We tried without success to get her an appointment. Some psychiatrists were cash-only, some did not accept Medicare, and some would see her but an appointment was six weeks to two months away. Her medicine was about to run out. The office of her doctor suggested we take her to Parthenon Pavilion but that is where we took her in August of 2014 where, when she was supposed to be on one-on-one supervision, they allowed her to fall and break her ankle in four places and she never walked again. I was not comfortable taking her back to Parthenon.

We were running out of options when her doctor’s office called and said St. Thomas had a Psyche unit and they had an opening and his office told us we needed to take her to the St. Thomas emergency room. We did and they discovered Louella had a severe urinary tract infection and she was hospitalized for that and by the time she was mostly cured of the UTI, the bed in “Behavioral Health” was taken so we had to wait another day or two before a bed in Behavioral Health opened up.

We took Louella to the emergency on a Thursday and sometime early the next week she was moved to Behavioral Health. During the end of the week in which she went to the hospital and all of the following week, Sue stayed with her during the day and I would come in the evening after work and stay with her. Sue was gone on a well-deserved vacation the second week of Louella’s stay and the weekends that bracket that week and the following Monday of the next week.

On Tuesday of Louella’s second full week in the hospital, Sue returned to work. On that Tuesday the social worker at St. Thomas pulled Sue aside and started asking her questions about Louella’s care. She then asked Sue, “Why does he not just let her go?” Sue, at first did not fully understand the question and said, “What do you mean?” And the social workers said, “Well, she has no quality of life and she is dying. Why don’t he just let her go?”

On Thursday of that week, the social worker pulled me into an office and went over several issues related to Louella’s release and future plans for Louella’s care. One of her items of discussion was what would I think, or would I agree to putting Louella back under hospice care. I said, “No, I would not.” She said, “Well, you know she is dying.”  I said, “She is not dying right now and while I know she could die at any time; she could have a stroke or a seizure that killed her, it is not like she has a terminal illness with only days to live.” I said, “Under hospice care, she could die from a urinary tract infection. I don’t want that.” Then she said, “She has no quality of life.” I didn’t say anything else and we moved on to the next topic on her list.

I know it is true that Louella is dying, just as we are all dying from the moment we are born. Louella could die tonight from a stroke or a seizure but I could die from a heart attack or an auto accident. While she cannot get well, she does not have a killer disease with only days or weeks to live. Her dementia could reach the point to where she cannot swallow or there could be other symptoms that end her life, but we are not experiencing those symptoms now. If “no quality of life” is the standard, well we should kill all babies who are colicky or are cutting teeth. We should kill all children born with severe mental disability. We should kill all prisoners. We should kill people who just went through a divorce, lost custody of their child, and lost their job and have a car that constantly break down.

Anyway, it is not true that Louella has “no quality of life.” For about the six weeks prior to going to the emergency room during her awake hours she was agitated a lot and had those periods of real rage. That extreme rage may have been due to having a urinary tract infection. She cannot tell you what is wrong. She may have been in pain.

For about a month prior to the period of the extreme agitation, Louella was a delight and joy. Louella is “total care,” and cannot talk, but during the month period prior to the weeks of agitation she was engaged. She laughed, she smiled and she was sweet. She noticed things and made eye contact. Her mumbling of nonsense syllables had words mixed in and she was not just chanting syllable; if you did not know, you would have thought she was speaking a foreign language. She spoke with inflection and punctuation, and she said some complete sentences and phrases. She enjoyed “talking” to people. She was happy. She had “quality of life.” I hope those times can return.

Even when having periods of agitation, she enjoys eating. She will stop fussing to eat. Since she has difficulty swallowing, we have to feed her very slowly and it takes about and hour to feed her. She is happy when she eats. At night before bedtime, I always feed her ice cream and she loves ice cream and makes appreciative “uhumm” sounds as she eats. She at times enjoys watching the squirrels and birds at the bird feeder outside our front window. She loves Sue’s little dog, Beauty. She notices the dog. Louella can propel herself in her wheelchair, and she will try to go to the dog and will say, “Come her, you.” When she came home from the hospital, she was happy to see Beauty. Sue held Beauty up to Louella and Louella kissed her.

Louella's mind may be gone for the most part, but she still has worth and she still has personality. Even when she is mad, she is sometimes cute.  She will fuss in non-sense syllables and and then emphatically say, "And, I don't like it!"  She also has a since of humor.  She will rapidly babble a series of syllables, "bing, bing, bing, bing, binb, bing, bing, bing, bing, kaboom!" She will then rare back proudly and then have a mischievous smile on her face and then laugh and we laugh with her.  She has a couple variation on this. The social worker only saw her in the hospital when she was sick. How dare her suggest Louella's life is not worth living!

We had a really good night recently since she has been out of the hospital. She smiled a lot and leaned toward me and put her head on my shoulders and nuzzled me and kept given me kisses. She was happy.  It was sweet and romantic.  She has  “quality of life.”

Louella was under hospice care from March 13th 2015 until December 5th 2015. She was put on hospice because while in the hospital with pneumonia she failed three swallow tests on three consecutive days. A palliative counselor told me, Sue, and my sister Kathleen, that the choice was to put a feeding tube down her throat or send her home with hospice care to die. I opted for hospice care. They said she had days or weeks to live and that she would die of starvation if something else did not kill her first. At first we gave her just thickened liquid like water or juice but we then started giving Ensure and chicken broth and other liquids with nutrition and she got stronger. After a couple weeks we started giving soups and pureed food such as mashed potatoes or pureed veggies and she kept getting stronger, then we moved to soft but solid foods such as hamburger or shredded chicken and then to regular solid foods. On December 15th 2015 she was dismissed from hospice care.

I know hospice care has been a blessing and comfort to many people. My father who died about 26 years ago was under hospice care for a few days before he died. I am not against hospice care, but the goal of hospice is to keep the patient comfortable as they die, not to help them get well. While Louella was under hospice care, they did not even take her temperature telling me they just did not do that, that a fever was just part of the process of dying and could be a comfort to a dying person.

If a person was caring for a loved one on their own and was just worn out, or if they stood to inherit some money and needed it, it would be so easy to put their loved one under hospice care and just let her die from some mild aliment that could otherwise be treated, when hospice care was suggested by a social worker. One could just assume the social worker knows best. Social workers who suggest that someone like Louella be put under hospice care should be ashamed, should lose their job, and maybe go to prison where they would have no “quality of life.”

My anger has been directed at the particular social worker who tried to talk me into putting Louella under hospice care and "letting her go," but after reflection, she is probably just a cog in the wheel. The problem is most likely systemic and part of a societal disregard for human life, a disrespect for the elderly, and a dysfunctional healthcare system in which the patient does not come first.

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For now blogging is taking a back seat as I focus on my lovely Louella.

Dear Readers of A Disgruntled Republican,

If you are one who checks this blog on a regular basis you may have noticed that I have not posted in a little over a week. Those who follow me on Facebook know my circumstances but for other readers of this blog, I want to explain my circumstances.

My lovely wife Louella has Alzheimer's with which she was diagnosed in November of 2004, but which she probably had since about 2001.  Recently she developed chest congestion and after a sleepless night last Sunday, she was taken to the hospital on Monday when she would hardly respond when her caregiver tried to wake her.  She was taken to the hospital by ambulance and diagnosed with pneumonia.  We were informed that she aspirates, that is, she inhale food or liquid rather than swallowing it- it goes down the wrong way.  She has reached the point to where her mind can not tell her body weather to swallow or breath.

On Tuesday of last week, we met with the palliative counselor of the hospital and the options were explained.  Knowing Louella, I know she would not want to be put on a feeding tube or have other extraordinary efforts made to prolong her life when there is no hope of recovery.  She left the hospital on Friday and Friday evening we met with a representative from Alive Hospice.  They will be providing her care from here on out.

After an almost sleepless night Sunday I was at the hospital until late each night, meeting with doctors and counselors and just staying with her and comforting her.  Also, all week, in the day, I was in a class that is only offered once a year and which I needed in order to maintain my professional certification.  My last week has been exhausting both physically and emotionally.  I have had no time to blog, but no inclination to do so even if I had had the time. One of the last things I want to do right now is read and comment on the Metro Council agenda.

This week and still as of today, I do not even want to watch the news.  I certainly don't feel like being argumentative. I don't even want to listen to country music about lost love or watch violent stressful movies.  So, I am going to be good to myself and do what ever helps me deal with this ordeal and focus on what is most important.  I will only blog as much as I like and I will resume my full blogging when I am ready, which could be soon or could be longer depending on circumstances and my state of mind. I will post some links of interest and announcements and such from time to time, but for now blogging is taking a back seat.

At work this past week while in training, I was blessed to be surround by very loving supportive people. Some of them I have know for over 20 years and some I just met. The distraction of the class was really probably good for me and being with such good supportive people was a blessing. 

I am fortunate to have Sue Deuss as Louella's caregiver.  She has been with us for four years now. She is more than a trained paid caregiver; she is our dear friend and she has grown to love Louella. I could not ask for a better person to help me care for Louella than Sue. I also have another trained professional if I need additional help. I also will have the services of Alive Hospice. 

I also have the support and love of my family. My sisters have been here to help me deal with facing reality and to ask questions and think clearly when I could not think clearly. My daughter is flying in from New Orleans today to give me a big hug.  I appreciate my family, my co-workers, my friends and Facebook friends who are praying for me and Louella and who are showing me such kindness.

I know there is only one outcome to this situation. I have know this day was coming since she was first diagnosed; still it hurts.  Please pray that Louella will leave this world at peace knowing she is loved and pray that I will have strength to deal with saying good bye.

Thank you,
Rod

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Will you please join me in the battle to combat Alzheimer’s?

The Walk to End Alzheimer's is this Saturday. If you are in Nashville and can join me, please do. The letter below tells why I am walking to end Alzheimer's and how Alzheimer's has touched my life. For those who have prayed for me and Louella and offered words of encouragement, thank you. For those who have contributed to the cause, I appreciate it.  If you have not contributed and would like to do so, I would be greatly appreciative. If you can't afford much, any amount would be appreciated. You can contribute by following this link. I know the worse part of this journey is ahead and I know finding a cure is too late to help my sweet Louella, but finding a cure will help others escape this terrible disease. Please continue to lift us up in prayer. Thank you, Rod

My dear friends,

Will you please join me in the battle to combat Alzheimer’s?

My life has been touched by this terrible illness.  My wife has been diagnosed for almost ten years now but probably had it for a couple years before that and she is

Louella in her cast

now in the advanced stages of the disease.

On October 11th, I will be taking part in the Nashville Walk to End Alzheimer's. Louella is currently in rehab, but if she is out, I hope she can walk with me. Would you please sponsor us in this walk? A contribution of any amount will be appreciated. Can you contribute $5 or $10? If you will click on this link, it will take you to my donation page.  (Once on that page, just click on "$ Donate to my team" and then it takes you to another page where you can submit your credit card information. This is a secure site administered by the Alzheimer Association. After submitting your donation you will receive a confirmation message.

If you are more comfortable writing a check, make the check out to “Alzheimer’s Association” and mail it to me and I will turn it in. My address is Rod Williams, 758 Roycroft Pl. Nashville, TN. 37203.

If you are here in Nashville and can join me for the walk, I would be honored. We will be walking a two mile walk starting at the Public Square Park, which is the park in front of the Courthouse.  Registration is at 8:00 am, Ceremony at 9:00 am, and the Walk is at 9:30 am. They have coffee and pastry that morning or they have in the past and I assume they will.  To join the "Rod and Louella Team" in the walk to end Alzheimer click on this link and then click “join my team.”  If you fail to register for the walk and want to join us at the last minute, just show up and look for me.

Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging and just getting senile. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder that damages and eventually destroys brain cells, leading to loss of memory, thinking and other brain functions. Alzheimer's usually develops slowly and gradually gets worse as more brain cells wither and die. Ultimately, Alzheimer's is fatal, and currently, there is no cure. Unless a cure is found, you or someone you love may develop this disease. Currently, more than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's and that number is expected to grow to as many as 16 million by 2050. It is the 6th leading cause of death. Our future is at risk unless we can find a way to change the course of this disease.

If you are a reader of this blog and live here in Nashville, some of you probably know Louella from

Louella and Sue, taken last year in New Orleans

my civic involvement and political activity. She has gone with me almost every place I have gone for about the last ten years up until the last year. She was usually happy and smiling and enjoyed being at events. Most of this time she still had good social skills despite her illness. Despite her illness we tried to live a normal life and for the most part, life was still good. Unfortunately that has changed. Now, much of the time Louella is unhappy and often agitated. This last year and a half has been rough, especially the last three months. Louella has lost most of her vocabulary skills and mumbles nonsensical syllables. She still knows me and she know her caregiver Sue, but I don't know that she knows other people.

In June, I put Louella in Parthenon Pavilion, a mental hospital.  The reason, I put her in there is that she was not sleeping.  Some nights she would sleep maybe two or three hours and sometimes maybe a couple hours but in 15 or 30 minute increments.  She had slept all night long only a couple night in the prior two weeks. Her not sleeping was taking a toll on me. Being on medication and exhausted from not sleeping, she would stumble and fall. I was afraid she would hurt herself so I put her in the hospital. Then things got worse.  She was in there a month and while there, supposed to be under one-on-one supervision, she fell and broke her ankle.  It was a bad break, broke in five places.  She then went to the hospital and had to have two operations.  While in the hospital she developed Pneumonia.  She spend two periods in the intensive care unit and I was afraid she was going to die.

After about a month in the hospital, she was moved to a rehab facility called Good Samaritan. She was free of pneumonia before leaving the hospital and Louella is stronger than she was. She had lost a lot of weight, but is now back up to almost her normal weight and she has a good appetite. Her ankle is healing and she goes to the doctor in a couple weeks and if all goes well the cast will be removed.

I have been so disappointed in the whole process of being involved in the health care system. At all

April 2007 at the Inauguration Ball for Bill Haslam

three institutions, I have felt that people would not know what they were doing. As an example, where she is now, she is supposed to have no weight on her broken leg, yet a tech would come in and try to get her to stand to get out of the wheel chair to the bed.  I would tell him she is to have no weight on that leg and he would say he didn't know and he would then get help moving her, but the next day a different tech would not know. While there have been some people who have been very sweet to Louella, often patients are treated like something to be processed, not like you would want the person treated if she was your mother. Louella went to the hospital because she could not sleep and ended up with a broken leg and pneumonia. Avoid going to the hospital if you can.

There is a risk that Louella may not be able to walk when the cast comes off. Some people with Alzheimer forget how to walk and cannot relearn after something like this. Also, her sleeping is still not regulated.  I still plan to bring her home, but am not sure how I will manage.  We still have Sue working for us.  She has been with us for almost four years now.  She is so sweet to Louella and really loves her.  I don't know what I would do without Sue.

It is sad to watch Louella fade away and difficult to face the inevitable. Louella and I have had a

We were married in a ceremony at our home Dec. 4th, 2005

wonderful portion of our life together.  I just wish I would have met her much earlier than I did and shared more of my life with her.  (See How Ayn Rand changed my life.) We really were soul mates. She shared my passion for political ideas and current events. We had read the same books and knew a lot of the same stuff. We could talk for hours. She was my best friend and we grew as a couple.  We learned about wine together.  We cooked together and became pretty good at cooking Thai and Asian foods, finding new receipts and searching for the best authentic ingredients. We shared an appreciation together of art and architecture and history and learned more together. And, we travelled. Every year for about ten years before she got sick we took a great vacation together. We would spend months studying, reading history of the country we were to visit and we traveled cheap with nothing but one rolling suitcases each and two good guide books. We really experienced the countries we visited. We went to Italy, Spain, Turkey, Greece, the Czech Republic, Hungary and more. Our trips were adventures and romantic. (See Drinking wine in Turkey.)

It is too late to find a cure for Alzheimer’s that will help Louella, but a cure will save others from this terrible disease. Please join me in the fight against Alzheimer’s by sponsoring my walk. Just follow this link and follow the instructions. Please keep us in your prayers and thank you.
 Rod Williams

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WALK TO END ALZHEIMER'S, NASHVILLE, Please make your contributionnow

If you have intended to make a contribution to the Walk to End Alzheimer’s and have not done so, please do it now. The campaign in rapidly coming to an end.

Please click on  this link and it will take you to a secure page were you can make your contribution. It is quick and easy.

The Walk is Saturday. Registration at 8AM; walk starts at 9AM. Please join Louella and I as we walk. To read more how this disease has affected me and Louella, read here and here.

To each of you who have contributed, I really to appreciate it.   Rod

 WALK TO END ALZHEIMER'S, NASHVILLE

TODAY!

OCTOBER 13, 2012 | CENTENNIAL PARK

 

Walk Day will be filled with

fun and exciting festivities for all ages.

Bounce houses, balloons, and airbrush tattoos at our Kids Zone

Contests and photos for all of our pets at our Paws for a Cause

 MUST SEE vendors in our Health and Fitness Zone

 The return of our very special and colorful Promise Garden

EXCITING ENTERTAINMENT, FREE FOOD, LOTS OF FUN!

Announcements

 - Registration begins at 8:00 AM.

- Opening Ceremonies will begin at 8:30 AM.

-The Walk will begin at 9:00 AM.

-The Walk route is a little more than a mile in length.

-Walk is a rain or shine event.

Alzheimer's does not stop for the weather, so neither will we.

- Parking will be available at various places throughout Centennial Park

There will also be street parking and parking across the street at the Marriot.

 If you would like to drop off Walkers near the band shell area, there is a circle drive that will be available for drop off from 7:00am-8:30am.

If you have any questions at all, please give us a call at 1.800.272.3900.

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Please join me in the battle to combat Alzheimer’s. Please give.

Dear friends,

Louella and her cat Sabrina

The Walk to End Alzheimer's is Saturday October 13th.  For those of you who have already contributed to the Walk to End Alzheimer's campaign, I really do appreciate it. Thank you.

There is only a few days left until the end of the campaign. Would you please join me in the battle to combat Alzheimer’s by making a contribution?  A contribution of any size will be appreciated. $5 or $10 will help and I will be grateful.
 
If you will click on this link, it will take you to my donation page.  Once on that page, just put in the amount you want to contribute and then it takes you to another page where you can submit your credit card information. This is a secure site administered by the Alzheimer Association. After submitting your donation you will receive a confirmation message.
If you are more comfortable paying by check, make the check out to  Alzheimer’s Association and mail it to me and I will turn it in. My address is Rod Williams, 758 Roycroft Pl. Nashville, TN. 37203.

Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder that damages and eventually destroys brain cells, leading to loss of memory, thinking and other brain functions. Alzheimer's usually develops slowly and gradually gets worse as more brain cells wither and die. Ultimately, Alzheimer's is fatal, and currently, there is no cure. Unless a cure is found, you or one you love may develop this disease. Currently, more than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's and that number is expected to grow to as many as 16 million by 2050. Our future is at risk unless we can find a way to change the course of this disease.

Louella, her brother Ben and
sister Linda. Florida,
May 2012

This fight against Alzheimer's is very personal with me. As you know, my life has been touched by this disease. My wife and the love of my life suffers from it.  It is too late to find a cure to help Louella. I have to accept that, but we may find a cure to save many others.

Louella has been diagnosed with the illness for eight years, but probably had it at least two years prior, maybe more. These last eight years have not been terrible. We have tried to not let her illness define our life and have tried to have as normal a life as possible.  We still went on a couple nice European vacations after she was diagnosed and we went on two vacations to Florida to visit Louella’s sister.  We continued an active social life of civic involvement and spending time with family and leisure activity.  We still go to the art crawls and sometimes party on lower Broadway.

I have been blessed in that Louella is not one of the Alzheimer’s patients who is angry, disagreeable, disruptive, or wanting to fight.  Louella could not be sweeter.  She does not tend to “wander.” And Louella is happy as can be.  She is content picking “flowers” in the yard. Actually she picks bouquets of weeds or foliage, but she is particular about which ones she is picking. Picking flowers makes her really happy. She also is content playing with her bling. She will put on earrings and necklaces and attach earrings to her clothing. She can play in her jewelry for hours. She has a lot of things that interest her. And, we have a cat that Louella is just crazy about.

Louella, Sue Deuss, Rod, and Councilman Walter Hunt
 at MLK event, Jan. 2012

Actually Louella is a delight. She gets excited at seeing butterflies fluttering around our zinnias in the front yard. She takes great delight in watching children. She gets excited at birds and if she sees a “bunny,” which we have a lot of in our neighborhood, she gets real excited. She likes a lot of television, especially America’s Funnies Home videos. Louella still loves to dance and to go places. Louella could not be happier.

We have been blessed by having a great caregiver for Louella.  Sue Deuss really loves Louella and could not be more gentle and sweet to her. She takes Louella places and takes good care of her. Sue has become like part of our family.

Unfortunately, Louella’s children have totally abandoned her.  They never call and never see her. After discovering they were stealing her money and after a long, lengthy legal battle, Louella’s remaining funds were placed in a conservatorship last year.  We have heard nothing from either of her children since then. Luckily Louella is unaware.  She lives in the here and now and worries about nothing.

Unfortunately, in the last year Louella has had a major decline. She can no longer read at all. She could not read with understanding for a long time, but now she cannot read any words.  Also, she talks less.  She still can understand when you talk to her, but she makes conversation a lot less and cannot find the words to express herself when she does try to talk. The worst is that she has lost control of her bodily functions. This makes it more difficult to go places and makes daily life less pleasant, but it is just part of it. 

Despite this further decline, Louella is still graceful, feminine, delicate, and charming. She still loves to get dressed up nice. She still enjoys life. She has the same mannerisms and she is still engaged and aware of what is going on around her. She is still Louella.

On October 13 We will be walking a mile and a half in Centennial Park. If you are in Nashville, Please join me.  Sign-in is at 8:00 AM and the walk begins at 9AM. To join the Rod and Louella Team" in the walk to end Alzheimer click on this link and then click “join team.”  If you fail to register for the walk and want to join us at the last minute, just show up.

Over the years, your words of encouragement, prayers and concern have been greatly appreciated. The support I have had from family and friends means so much. "Rod and Louella Team.

God Bless you,

Rod

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