On Tuesday, I joined just about every neurologist in the country for a luncheon honoring Leeza Gibbons.  Leeza received the 2005 Public Leadership in Neurology Award during the American Academy of Neurology's 57th Annual Meeting in Miami Beach.  Leeza took the opportunity to paint an extremely moving image of the lives of the patients and families that these physicians see on a daily basis. The extended standing ovation proves that the message was received loud and clear.

On Saturday, we hosted our seventh annual Fort Lauderdale Fearless Caregiver Conference and I was honored to be joined by a special education teacher with a degree from UNC-CH. And I hear he sings a little bit too, Mr. Clay Aiken.  A short delay in his arrival worried everyone who knows me that I might have had to sing to fill the time, which would certainly have not been good for anyone within earshot. Anybody who wondered what message Clay could possibly have had to share with our audience of 600 caregivers was convinced of his passion and knowledge after he spoke and exited to a well-deserved standing ovation. We presented the Robert M. Barg Memorial Achievement Award to him, which is not given often or lightly.   That evening we hosted the first Florida Voices for Change Gala to benefit the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, which according to the Foundation’s executive director “had more positive energy than she had ever seen in a room”.

Our Question and Answer panel during the Fearless Caregiver conference was exceptional, and I think we could have extended that session for another two hours and not answered all of the questions from the attendees. The topics ranged from technology to eye care and health insurance, depression and stress management and of course, legal issues.  We actually never got to the grand stopper of them all – the questions on senior driving.   

We learned from Lisa VanDyke from Walgreens during our “Ask the Pharmacist” session that another member of any Fearless Caregiver’s professional care team must be the pharmacist.

You would think we would be dragging around here, but the conference was so incredibly energizing, as the questions and answers spun across the hall, that we are even more motivated than ever to take our show on the road. We look forward to seeing you in our next two stops, in Los Angeles (June 28), and Philadelphia (July 27).     “On the Road Again….”  

 

 

Gary Barg
Editor-in-Chief
gary@caregiver.com