Image Up Advertising & Design

HAPPY SPRING! The flowers are blooming! The grass is green! As of this writing the mask mandate has been lifted and we are enjoying our lives as close to normal as possible. For those of you who celebrate Easter, I wish you a happy day with close friends and family. Our next meeting and support group will be on Thurs., April 21 at 10 am in the Main Clubhouse Multipurpose Room. There is no guest speaker this month. This will give each of you time to share, if you choose to, and also learn. This group is for YOU, the caregiver. Don't forget about our program in the Arts & Crafts Room. We care for your loved one while you enjoy the meeting. We offer entertainment, games, and fun. We are so thankful for Ed Avina who has given of his time and talent to entertain our loved ones for the past two years. Good news, he has agreed to another year! Thank you, Ed! If you have any questions, would like to learn more about memory loss, or would like reading material that we can loan you, call Diane, (951) 769-0130, Doug, (360) 840-5559 or Anne, (951) 845-8700. Remember we are here to help. Here is the seventh and last of the eight types of Dementia. 7. CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE: An extremely rare brain disorder that strikes only about 350 Americans each year. CJD is a fast moving, fatal disease caused by an infectious, misfolded prion protein in the brain. The disease can be inherited or very rarely it can be acquired by eating meat from infected animals (the "mad cow" crisis in the 1990s in the U.K. was one notable breakout of the disease) or by having a medical procedure in which infected tissue, such as a cornea, is implanted. In most cases, there is no known cause. 8. WERNICKE-KORSAKOFF SYNDROME: Wernicke-korsakoff syndrome is a degenerative brain disease caused by a deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1). In most cases, the vitamin deficiency is associated with long — term alcoholism, but severe weight loss due to anorexia or other illnesses can also result in extremely low levels. When the disease is in its earliest phase, it's called Wernicke; if it's untreated, Wernicke can lead to chronic, irreversible Korsakoff syndrome, which unfortunately happens in about 80 to 90 percent of cases. | SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | APRIL 2022 | 41 Caregiver Support Group The Creative Writers of Sun Lakes is alive and well and heading full- blast into the month of April — the month that often has been depicted as, "April showers bring May flowers." Since we need the rain, some of the members of the group may choose to write about precipitation of moisture falling from the sky… or, perhaps, precipitation of other ideas that their minds generate. We are reminded that the 15th of April is the deadline for filing our individual income tax returns. Also, on that same day this year (April 15) is both Good Friday and the beginning of Passover at sundown. April is a full and busy month. However, April is not so busy to deter the writers group from its monthly meeting on Mon., April 4 from 1 to 3 pm in the Main Clubhouse Multipurpose Room. That's when we will hear what other members have been writing. The writing that will be shared will be comprised of a variety of genre. That may include some poetry. There will be some prose — both fictional and non-fictional. We'll also hear some continuing installments of more lengthy works currently underway, and there will be adequate enough discussion to pique new ideas for storytelling of one kind or another. New members are always welcome to join the Creative Writers group. There are no membership dues — one cannot beat that kind of deal! Joining the group is simple — just as easy as entering the Multipurpose Room at 1 pm and finding an empty seat. The meetings are fulfilling in more ways than can be adequately described here; thus, all questions are welcomed and will be answered by Roger Smith at (951) 769-2808 or at rlswriter@verizon.net. He will welcome your inquiry.

• Cover