A Night Out w/ Team O'Grady - Alzheimer's Association fundraiser

Well it has been a while since my last blog and I'm sure you will all understand why once you read this.  I posted a few blogs in 2012 offering advice on dealing with Alzheimer's Disease as a caregiver, or just as a supportive family member or friend to a loved one suffering from the disease.  Last year (2013) presented a different challenge for me, and I had a difficult time dealing with it, let alone writing about it. 

As many of you know, my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in March of 2009 after having a massive heart attack on New Year's Eve '08.  He never came back from that New Year's Eve night, and spent the past few years in the throes of the end stages of Alzheimer's Disease. 

On March 18, 2013, our family was interviewed by CBS News for a short story on the devastating effects of Alzheimer's Disease on a family attempting to care for their loved one at home.  The CBS News team came to my parent's home and interviewed my mother and myself, and also took some footage of our everyday routines in caring for my father.  At this point, he was bed-bound, and hadn't walked in more than 6 months. Some of the footage included images of my father enjoying a little snuggle time with his elderly cat who had been his companion for almost 18 years.  It was a very powerful piece, particularly the interview with my mother, who stoically spoke of the impact the disease has had on her and her relationship with my father.  Her words: "He worked so hard, he deserves this from us now... I just want to see the journey through... to keep Sean as comfortable as we can... and hopefully that he doesn't suffer."

Here is a link to the news story: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/one-in-three-seniors-die-with-dementia-alzheimers/

The following day, March 19, 2013, the interview was published on the internet.  That same day, my father suffered a massive seizure.  Our live-in aide was with him at the time and immediately called us to tell us to come home right away.  He remained unconscious for several hours but later that evening, he woke up.  Once again his "tough-as-nails" Irish heritage shone through and he survived what would've broken many.  Over the next few days, various minor health issues kept cropping up, and the nurse practitioner from Hospice asked if we would be willing to bring him to a diagnostic facility so that they could figure out what was going on.  Once they figured out the issue, the plan was to treat him and get him back home, which was my mother's wish.

On March 28, 2013, he was sedated and transferred to the Joe Raso Hospice Home, where the staff took exceptional care of him during his short stay.  Unfortunately, whatever had taken hold of him was too much for him, and he decided to move on from this world.  Luckily, my mother, my brother and sister, and myself were all able to spend that last night with him and say our "goodbyes."  He passed away the following morning, very peacefully, and with his family by his side. 

My father died on March 29, 2013 - Good Friday - and his 69th birthday - and the beautiful hymn "Here I am Lord" was playing softly in the background as he went.  He was laid to rest on April 3, 2013 and is buried at Ascension Cemetery in Airmont. 

My mother and I traveled to Ireland soon after to spend some time with his brother and sisters, and to attend a funeral mass for him in his hometown churce - Bushfield Church, Charleston, Cty Mayo.  It truly was a homecoming of sorts - everything came full circle.  We spent our time in Mayo staying in his childhood home, with his brother Brendan and his family.  I've included a few photos from the trip.

Not a day goes by that I don't think of him, miss him, and wish he was with us.  But if the alternative was to have him here and suffering, while trapped inside his mind, and not knowing any of us, not being able to care for himself - then I say he is better off where he is.  He has his memories back now, and he is with us every day in so many ways. 

And in a strange twist of events, his forever faithful buddy Brandy (the cat pictured in the news clip), joined him in the afterlife three months later.

Alzheimer's Disease robbed my father of his golden years.  It robbed him of his wonderful memories of his wife, his children, his grandchildren, and the rest of our wonderful family.  It robbed him of the memories of his childhood and the life he built with my mother. 

But while this horrible disease made him forget who I was, I will never forget him.  I will continue to advocate for a cure, for treatment, for any progress that can be made in the fight against this disease.  I will fight until I am sure that my beautiful nieces never have to face this disease.

This is why I started Team O'Grady in 2011 and participated in the Rockland County Walk to End Alzheimer's that year.  And with the help of my very-generous family and friends, Team O'Grady raised about $12,000 that year, about $10,000 in 2012, and almost $10,000 in 2013.  All the money raised goes directly to the Alzheimer's Association, which funds services and support for families who are struggling with this disease, and more importantly, the incredible research and development aimed at finding a cure. 

In February of 2014, I was lucky enough to be asked by the Alzheimer's Association to join them at their National Leadership Summmit.  During the three-day conference, I learned some incredibly scary and sobering facts about the disease: (1) all you need to be at risk of developing Alzheimer's is a brain, (2) Alzheimer's Disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the US (recent studies indicate probably higher), (3) more than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's, (4) 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia, and (5) there is no cure and no way to slow the progression of Alzheimer's.

But on a more positive note, most of the major advancements in Alzheimer's research have happened in the past 20 years, and new and exciting research is happening every day.

Attending the conference and speaking with other volunteers and staff of the Alzheimer's Association from all over the country only served to solidify why I started this journey.  And I came back ready to do even more this year!

Which brings me to the title of this blog - A Night Out w/ Team O'Grady.

On March 29, 2014, my sister Michelle Worob, my brother Darren O'Grady, and myself are hosting a fundraiser at Emmett's Castle at the Blue Hill Golf Course in Pearl River, New York.  We chose that day because it is the one-year anniversary of our father's passing, and it is what would have been his 70th birthday.  We wanted to do something big to honor the wonderful man that he was.

The event starts at 7:00 p.m..  The cost is $50 per person if paid by 3/24 and $60 per person afterwards and at the door.  That price includes entry to the event, a three-hour open bar, light appetizers, and an entry into a door prize raffles.  There will be a DJ (PJ the DJ), a cash box raffle, a 50/50 raffle and a main raffle.  You can pre-pay by contacting Michelle Worob or myself, or stopping in to Luigi O'Grady's Deli on Middletown Road in Pearl River.

The main raffle is a drawing for the following:
     1st prize - 39" Vizio LED HDTV (on display at Luigi O'Grady's Deli)
     2nd prize - $500 gift certificate to Dance Central in Pearl River
     3rd prize - a Tory Burch cream tote (picture on the event's Facebook page)
     + other prizes as well...
 Tickets are $10 each and are available from now up to the night of the event.  They can be purchased at Luigi O'Grady's Deli, or from Michelle Worob or myself.  The winning tickets will be pulled at the event on 3/29 and the winner need NOT be present to win.

The cash box raffle is a grid of 100 boxes (similar to a superbowl grid) - the boxes are $20 each.  Boxes can be purchased at Luigi O'Grady's Deli  from now through the night of the event.  We will choose one winner from each grid (in the event we fill up more than one) and the winner will get $1,000.  Again, the winner will be pulled at the event on 3/29 and the winner need NOT be present to win.

There will be other prizes throughout the evening as well, including but not limited to a designer Michael Kors purse and matching wallet, a designer Coach bag, a gift certificate to Defiant Brewery, a basket from Danu Gallery, a $100 gift certificate to Elegant Balloons, a basket from Mimi's Treasures, and some cool reclaimed lumber items made by the ever-talented Darren O'Grady (Kincora Custom Builders).

Please join us for a wonderful evening to remember a wonderful man.  For those of you who knew my father, he was a quiet man who didn't say much, but when he did, it was usually important. 

And if you can't make it but you'd still like to help, to to http://act.alz.org/goto/teamogrady to join our team for the 2014 Walk or to make a donation.

All of the proceeds from the event will be added to Team O'Grady's fundraising page for the 2014 Walk to End Alzheimer's.  This year's walk in Rockland is scheduled for Sunday, October 12, 2014 and will take place at the Rockland Boulder's Stadium in Pomona.  There will be lots of fun stuff happening at the 2014 Walk, so stay tuned for more details.  I've included a few pictures from the 2013 Walk, which was also at the Boulder's Stadium

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I truly hope you join us on 3/29 and 10/12. 

Sincerely,
Siobhan O'Grady
A former caregiver to an amazing father - John "Sean" Thomas O'Grady (3/29/44-3/29/13)