I was thrilled yesterday when the keynote speaker at the Alzheimer’s Association 7th annual Elks educational conference in North Charleston asked me to write up my son’s “great idea” to trigger memories for his mother, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Jolene Brackey, author of “Creating Moments of Joy,” and leader of her organization, Enhanced Memories, made the request after I described for her and the several hundred people at the conference my son’s accomplishments. “I want to remember this great idea and pass it along,” she said.
Last week Patrick came to my apartment and carried away nine medium sized boxes of family photos and 35mm slides going back almost sixty years. Some of the photos, packed in shoe boxes, were taken before Mary and I ever met. We joked this was a five-year project he was undertaking.
I underestimated Patrick’s interest and skills. By Sunday he had taken a sampling of the collection, digitized them with a scanner into his computer. From there he loaded them onto an Apple TV box which he bought as a Mother’s Day gift earlier in the month.
The box he hooked up to the TV in Mary’s room at Skilled Nursing at Franke at Seaside. We have shown the aides how to use the source button on the TV remote to trigger the show and bring on memories for Mary.
Some of our other children and a grandson have watched these images with their mother, as have I, and laughed at the memories and the times. It is amazing how clothes, hairdos, and appearances have changed. Birthday parties, summer trips, our wedding, Christmas celebrations, etc. are all in this collection and more will come in the future.
These converted photos and slides may be seen at: http://picasaweb.google.com/patrick.archibald Look for “FXA Batch, etc.” There are ten batches currently digitized.
The conference was held at Charleston Elks Lodge #242. Alzheimer’s has been the Elks major state project since 1997. Their slogan is, “Elks working for those who cannot remember.”
Jolene Brackey, author of “Creating Moments of Joy,” and leader of her organization, Enhanced Memories, made the request after I described for her and the several hundred people at the conference my son’s accomplishments. “I want to remember this great idea and pass it along,” she said.
Last week Patrick came to my apartment and carried away nine medium sized boxes of family photos and 35mm slides going back almost sixty years. Some of the photos, packed in shoe boxes, were taken before Mary and I ever met. We joked this was a five-year project he was undertaking.
I underestimated Patrick’s interest and skills. By Sunday he had taken a sampling of the collection, digitized them with a scanner into his computer. From there he loaded them onto an Apple TV box which he bought as a Mother’s Day gift earlier in the month.
The box he hooked up to the TV in Mary’s room at Skilled Nursing at Franke at Seaside. We have shown the aides how to use the source button on the TV remote to trigger the show and bring on memories for Mary.
Some of our other children and a grandson have watched these images with their mother, as have I, and laughed at the memories and the times. It is amazing how clothes, hairdos, and appearances have changed. Birthday parties, summer trips, our wedding, Christmas celebrations, etc. are all in this collection and more will come in the future.
These converted photos and slides may be seen at: http://picasaweb.google.com/patrick.archibald Look for “FXA Batch, etc.” There are ten batches currently digitized.
The conference was held at Charleston Elks Lodge #242. Alzheimer’s has been the Elks major state project since 1997. Their slogan is, “Elks working for those who cannot remember.”
