THE STONE FLOWER
AROUND TOWN
a gallery of gems& minerals
580 NORTH WOODWARD,
BIRMINGHAM, MI 48011
642-1108
WHAT IS THE STONE FLOWER?
A breathtaking collection of
custom jewelry by exclusive artists,
of mineral specimens
of artifacts carved by exclusive artists.
of American Native jewelry and
pottery by exclusive artists.
A legend
lives
COME AND BE ENCHANTED
Holiday Hours
Tuesday-Saturday
10:30-5:30
Our luxury townhome rental coinmunity is now ready
for you. We've combined all the best ingredients of
an individual home with the advantages of leasing.
• 2 and 3 bedroom townhomes
featuring 2 1/2 baths
• 2-car garage
with garage door openers
• Full basement
• Extra-large walk-in closets
• Private walk-out patio
• Cathedral ceiling in
master bedroom
• Central air
• Gas fireplace
• Full size washer and dryer on
main level
• Frost free refrigerator
• Range with self-cleaning oven
• Microwave oven
• Datavision intrusion system
• Coble TV available
• Pool and clubhouse
• Special rate on nearby
health and athletic club
West Bloomfield
Drake Rd. North of Maple
661-2900
presented hr
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82
Friday, December 5, 1986
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Combating
Continued from Page 81
based in Southfield, currently
provides up to four hours of
respite care a week to 55
families. Pola Friedman,
Endowment Committee
chairman and an adminis-
trator at Sinai Hospital, es-
timates there are 6,000
families in the Detroit area
who have a family member
with Alzheimer's or a related
disorder.
"Some of those families
desperately need respite
care," she said. "Many adult
day care centers and nursing
homes won't have any part of
patients with dementing
illnesses. They just can't cope
with their confusion, their
aggression, their habits of
wandering away. And then
there's the matter of money.
Most medical insurances
don't provide for dementia
care. That's where the term
`The 36-hour day' comes in."
Friedman refers to the
book of the same name pub-
lished by John Hopkins Uni-
versity Press in 1981. It has
become the "bible" for Al-
zheimer caregivers, Friedman
says.
Siegal, who cared for her
father for many long months,
along with her sister, said,
"You literally feel as though
your day is 36 hours long.
Because their memories are
affected so, they get so they
don't know day from night.
They sleep when you're
awake and wander the house
when you're asleep. They can
sleep for an hour and think
they'd had an entire night's
sleep."
With so many names on
the committee roster repre-
sentative of the Jewish com-
munity — Doreen Hermelin,
Beryl Winkleman, Marlene
Borman, Pola Friedman,
Bluma Siegal, SuSu Sosnick,
John Bloom, Renee Mahler —
the question comes up: Is this
a disease that is threatening
the Jewish population?
"Though we're naturally
concerned," said Friedman,
"it isn't necessarily a Jewish
concern. Alzheimer's and
other intellectually impairing
disorders are becoming a
worldwide problem, possibly
because we're living longer.
Most of the committee mem-
bers have had family mem-
bers with Alzheimer's. Be-
yond that, I think the Jewish
community has always been
extremely concerned with
education and medicine. The
fact that there is no means of
prevention and there is no
cure presents a heartbreak-
ing challenge to all of us."
SuSu Sosnick's mother, Es-
telle Miller, is a volunteer at
ADRDA. "My mother's sister
has it," Sosnick says, "but
even without that tie, she
would be out there doing
what she could. You should
see her! People love it when
she answers the phones be-
cause she's such a caring,
giving person."
Beryl Winkleman's hus-
band, Isadore, was an Al-
zheimer's victim. "It is such a
sad and terrible disease, you
just can't come away from it
without wanting to do some-
thing for other people," Mrs.
Winkleman said, "And you
might think a few hours of
respite care can't do much,
but for those families it can
be a godsend — the difference
between making it and not
making it."
Because the onset of Al-
zheimer's is such a mystery,
theories about preventions
and cures come and go — and
come back again. For a while,
over-the-counter lecithin was
thought to improve memory
and behavior, but several
studies indicate there is no
truth to that claim.
Because autopsies of Al-
zheimer's victims show an in-
creased amount of aluminum
in their brains, and because
"Alzheimer's is
becoming a
worldwide
problem, possibly
because we are
living longer."
studies suggest there may be
an inherited genetic factor
involved, some family mem-
bers stay away from alumi-
num pots and pans, antacids
and antiperspirants — all
sources of the metal. Though
scientists think the alumi-
num is probably there al-
ready and cannot be intro-
duced, Sosnick says, "Why
take chances? It's a small
price to pay, going without
those things, or finding al-
ternatives."
Then there is the genetic
factor — the possibility that
blood relatives can inherit
the tendency toward the dis-
ease, if not the disease itself.
"That, I think, is our
biggest fear, and may be
what draws us all to this par-
ticular effort," Bluma Siegal
admitted. "My sister and I
have talked about this many
times, and we finally decided
that we would treat the
whole thing with our usual
sense of humor. In fact, when
my sister heard that it might
be hereditary, the first thing
she said to me was, 'I get the
bed by the window!' "
The Chocolate Jubilee
benefit for the ADRDA will
be held this Sunday at the
Somerset Inn in Troy. The
patron's brunch, with honor-
ary chair Marilyn Turner,
will be at noon.
The fundraising Jubilee
begins at 2 p.m. and will fea-
ture chocolatiers, bakers,
candy companies, and ice
cream producers (including
Rikki Shafer of Chocolatis-
simo, Sylvia Lee, Yvonne's To
Go, Romaniks, Merchant of
Vino, and Gayle's Chocolates)
with demonstrations and free
samples.