A big THANK YOU to our LBDA volunteers Victoria Ruff, Sylvia Green, and Meg Ward who represented LBDA at the AARP Life@50+ Conference in Boston, May 8-10, 2014. Here is a recap of their experience:
“When our Boston-based LBD support group received an email from LBDA asking for volunteers to help distribute informational brochures at the AARP Media Road Show, there was no hesitation for us. Having our own personal experience of the pain and suffering caused by Lewy body dementia, the three of us felt compelled to answer the call of duty.
The exposure on such a large scale seemed exciting, yet daunting as well. After all, we were presenting at the official sponsor booth of the AARP Life@50+ National Event & Expo! When we reported to our shifts, we knew our mission but there was uncertainty as to what kind of reception we would receive by the attendees. However, we quickly realized that people who came to this event wanted to be informed about all aspects of life after 50; whether it was a sobering topic or not. Our interaction with people was varied across the spectrum — from people just politely accepting our brochure after our brief introduction, to in-depth questioning about the disease, to sharing their own personal story of a loved one with LBD or what they believe was a misdiagnosis of LBD as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.
We met and spoke with many people from all over the country. Most of them were retirees; however, there were also people in the senior care and nursing industry who were eager to help pass along our message, and this gave us feeling of great accomplishment.
Sore feet, hoarse voices and all, it was one of the most rewarding experiences. We were so happy to have had the opportunity to serve in such a vital role in LBDA’s Lewy Who? national awareness campaign.”
