In 1994, my husband's mother, who had Alzheimer's Disease, came to live with us. My husband and I learned the hard way what is takes to become the caretaker of a parent. I hope other families can benefit from what we learned and that by sharing our experiences I can assist others to get through this difficult transition in their lives.
I grew up in Georgia and Mississippi, taught school in Atlanta and Covington, Georgia, and moved to North Carolina in the early 90s. Most of my time is spent in the various volunteer activities listed below:
I am the co-ordinator for Project Linus of Western North Carolina, a non-profit organization that makes hand made blankets for critically ill and traumatized children;
volunteer driver for the Disabled American Veterans;
member of the 10-10-10 Youth Mentoring Project sponsored by One Dozen Who Care, Inc.;
facilitator for the Western North Carolina Self-Help Group of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the NMSS of the National Multiple Sclerosis Socitey;
volunteer with the 30th District North Carolina Guardian ad Litem Program;
charter member of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Storytellers' Guild;
charter board member and treasurer of Chautauqua AVE!;
board member and treasurer of the Cherokee County Council for Women;
volunteer translator for the Latino and migrant worker community;
teacher of English as a second language to the Latino and Asian community;
member of the Hispanic Ministries Commission of the
Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina;
and a member of the steering committee for the Multi-Cultural Women's Development Conference.