Perryville residents start Alzheimer’s support group
PERRYVILLE — Ida Rose’s family has definitely been touched by Alzheimer’s disease.
The 77-year-old Perryville resident said her father had the memory-robbing disease, and so did all eight of his siblings.
Rose said that to help her cope with her father’s illness, she attended an Alzheimer’s support group in Morrilton, which is no longer active.
Rose; her husband, Lester; and a friend, Missy Boliek of Perryville, are starting an Alzheimer’s / Dementia Careg ive r s’ Sup - port Group for Perry and Conway counties.
The group will meet at 1:30 p.m. the first Monday of each month, beginning March 1, at Perryville United Methodist Church, 123 Cross St.
Priscilla Pittman, program coordinator of Alzheimer’s Arkansas in Little Rock, will be the guest speaker.
Rose said she’s considered starting a support group for years.
“I’ve talked to Alzheimer’s Arkansas for a long time, and they asked me if I’d be interested in starting one, but I just felt like I didn’t have the time,” Rose said.
Boliek, who owns Shear Reflections Salon, said she talked to Rose about the issue.
“I have quite a few clients that their spouses have Alzheimer’s. I was talking to Ida about it, and she had told me it had been on her heart. She said I just pushed her over the edge,” Boliek said.
Rose agreed that Bol i ek spurred her to take action. She said Boliek told her about two senior citizens whose husbands have Alzheimer’s disease and said they would “give anything if there was a support group here.”
“When she told me about them, it just broke my heart, so I said, ‘Oh, my goodness, that is so sad,’ and it just touched me,” Rose said.
“There are so many families that Alzheimer’s and dementia touch in Perry County, and there are no support groups, and there
are no support groups in Conway County — in Morrilton,” Rose said. “I’ve already got 14 families I know personally in Perryville that Alzheimer’s touches them. I have a dear friend right now who had early-onset [Alzheimer’s disease] at 62. He’s in the nursing home; he sleeps all day. That’s what my father did.”
Rose said she’s “always been forgetful,” and with her family history, she’s worried.
“I have already been tested twice for it,” she said. “If I’m getting early-onset, I wanted to get started with some medicine.”
Doctors have assured her that she doesn’t have the disease.
“I’m just forgetful,” Rose said. “They tell me my file cabinet is too full because I’m so busy.”
But she can relate to people
who have a family member with the devastating disease.
Rose said she lived out of state when her mother was caring for her father with Alzheimer’s disease, and as the eldest child, Rose said, she felt a sense of responsibility.
She said there is a vast amount of information available that can help caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. The Roses and Boliek will attend training on Feb. 24.
“I have lots of experience,” Rose said. “We just hope we can make a difference. We’re there to listen and to support and love those people because I’ve been there, and I know what it’s like.
“If we can just help one family, what a blessing that will be.”
For more information about the group, contact Rose at (501) 208-3105.