Realizing that she needed to reach out for any extra help or care she could find, Rosemary turned to the Alzheimer Society of Chatham-Kent.

The Society, who work with a number of long term care homes – including Meadow Park Chatham, where Keith currently resides – offer extensive counseling and educational supports for family members and individuals dealing with Alzheimer Disease.

Their support has been invaluable, says Rosemary, in helping her come to terms with the disease, which Keith was diagnosed with in 1997 at the young age of 60.

“I was on my own, and it’s a very long journey,” says Rosemary, who is now on the Society’s board of directors, representing the consumer voice. “There is no respite for the caregiver – there is no chance of ever being divorced from it.”

Matching local need for respite care, the Society developed a respite care program, where counselors and support workers go into private and long term care homes to offer assistance to family and staff. They also run “Day Away,” a day-long activities program comprising total care for Chatham-Kent area individuals who have the disease.

Megan Mackay-Barr, a social worker/counselor with the Society, has been particularly instrumental in helping her confront the disease, she says.

“It’s a very difficult disease,” says Rosemary. “They have helped me to understand it – and that has helped me manage it. You can’t change what’s going on, but the counseling helps you respond to it.”

Rosemary has subsequently become very active with the Society, organizing annual Alzheimer fundraiser Coffee Break, fundraising for “Walk for Memories,” and volunteering her time on the board.

Meadow Park recently held an Alzheimer Society fundraising Italian dinner, which drew 100 family members, residents and staff. The event raised more than $250 dollars for the society, highlighting the strength of the partnership in the process, says Lydia Swant, Resident and Family Services Coordinator.

“It’s very important for people in the community to be aware of these type of partnerships – we want to be proactive on this,” says Swant.

Although the drug Aricept helped delay many of Keith’s symptoms during the early stage of his disease, it “eventually caught up to him,” says Rosemary. In order to digest the marked changes in behaviour as the disease progressed, Rosemary turned to the Alzheimer Society, using its lending library and the assistance of its staff.

“It was the little things that they helped with too,” she says.