|
Attended
|
28
|
|
Apologies
|
16
|
|
LOA
|
5
|
|
Silent
|
14
|
|
TOTAL
|
63
|
President Pat opened the meeting with the uplifting advice that today is the shortest day, and that from now on we can look forward to summer. Outside it was dark and rainy.
GUESTS
Were our speakers Fay Philp, Jack Moyle and Glen Bradley and Charla, Glen’s daughter.President Pat reminded us that last week, in partial commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the introduction of women into Rotary, there was a presentation to former lady Presidents of the Club. Mary O’Sullivan and Lynda Burch were missing last week so they received their commemoration brooches this week.
GENERAL
- Thanks to Michelle for “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”.
- Birthdays – for Wayne tomorrow and Rhonda later in the week.
- Anniversaries – for Dan (9th) and John Carlson (his 16th).
- Next week is Club assembly and Friday 5’s.
- Mary reported on her visit to Dave, most of which has been advised through emails. Dave is still very weak but in good spirits. Visits need to be brief (i.e. a maximum of 30 minutes) and Dave will let you know when you have been there long enough. Mary passed on Dave’s thanks for the meals. He has enough meals in storage now and will let us know if more are required.
- Dan reported that Jess Collins, who has spoken at the Club previously, is getting the Prime Minister’s Exemplar Award and Dan is travelling to Wellington for the ceremony.
- Michelle thanked all those who have participated in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”. There have been 38 people involved which is about $30 a head. There’s nearly enough money for a shelter box.
- Warren said that his daughter, Diane, is looking for a full-time job if anyone has anything available.
- Cathy reported that the first Treasured Art mailout has gone out and some art is already coming in.
SPEAKERS
All the speakers were from Alzheimer’s NZ, Tauranga/WBOP branch.
Fay Philp is the volunteer co-ordinator. Fay started by explaining what is dementia.The key points are:
Dementia is a disease of the brain. There are about 200 such diseases, of which Alzheimer’s is the most common. The Alzheimer’s Society takes all dementia cases, not just those suffering from Alzheimer’s.
So Alzheimer’s is a disease, which causes damage to the brain. It is not a mental health issue as such. It is a physical illness.
Fay went through the 10 warning signs for Alzheimer’s. Each of these needs to be present to a significant extent. The first port of call is your GP:
- Recent memory loss that affects daily life;
- Difficulty performing regular tasks;
- Problems with language;
- Disorientation of time and place;
- Decrease or poor judgement (e.g. not paying attention to your physical appearance – it was noted that a number of the members attending the meeting this morning might appear to come within this category but that is probably because they were wearing shorts!)
- Problems with complex tasks (e.g. preparing meals and looking after financial affairs);
- Misplacing things;
- Changes in mood or behaviour. Note also that although Alzheimer’s is a physical disease, it can be accompanied by depression and/or anxiety;
- Problems relating to others, including social withdrawal; and
- Loss of initiative.
The Alzheimer’s Society has about 95 volunteers of whom about 80 are active. They have 400‑500 clients. The volunteers do not look after meds or personal cares. Their role is to provide things like friendship, shopping trips and activities.
Fay noted there was no particular provision in the recent Budget to assist with Alzheimer’s, although some change has been made to means testing which will affect people going into care. She commented that in New Zealand, as in much of the rest of the world, the aging population is creating an additional strain on resources for dementia care.
Fay then introduced Jack. Jack told us that he is a music teacher at Bethlehem and Otumoetai Colleges. Six-seven years ago his then 57 year old wife, Barbara, was diagnosed with younger onset Alzheimer’s. He sat down with some of their close friends and said he would need their help. Only one of the friends responded, the rest withdrew. This is apparently a common occurrence and Jack said he was told at the time, and has found in practice, that help comes from places that surprise you.
Bev has a volunteer who visits once a week and has struck up a friendship. Jack said the volunteer system is a God-send.
Jack finished by putting on his guitar and singing a song he has written titled “Love Remains”.
Fay then introduced Glen Bradley. He started with the Alzheimer’s organisation last Monday. Glen said his job is to enhance the lives of all affected by Alzheimer’s, not just the sufferer but also their family.
Glen thanked the Club for the funding that has been provided, and said he hopes that will continue.
Chris Dever gave the vote of thanks.
(Had to be withdrawn because some lucky person couldn’t find their ticket.) It was then won by the aforesaid Chris Dever.
SERGEANT SESSION
Sergeant Bob fell on his sword to acknowledge that he didn’t know he was Sergeant until he turned up at the meeting! This was reflected in the lack of an opening Grace before breakfast and was caused by an admitted failure to read the Bulletin.
Bob acknowledged all those who were wearing shorts and told them they could pay the standard fine this morning, with everyone else to pay more. Bob also told us of a mystery and a major anniversary in his life that the rest of us had missed, but he was pleased to report he had done all the drinking on his own.
REMINDERS FROM PRESIDENT PAT
- Visit Dave;
- 30 June is the District changeover at Morrinsville;
- 5 July is the Club changeover – get your tickets;
- 16 July is the whiskey tasting;
- 28 June is Club assembly/Friday 5’s.
FINAL SMILE
Q:What do you call bears with no ears?
A: B
