PLAY IT AGAIN: Music brings Aurora Alzheimer patients to life

For Beulah Foelsch, life is circular. At 88 years old, the former Wisconsin dairy farmer spends her days moving her wheelchair through the never-ending hall of the main building at Juniper Village in Aurora.

Barbershop, gym, health care office. Barbershop, gym, health care office. Barbershop, gym, health care office.

Those are the places she passes every day. They never change, but they’re always new.

Like all the residents at Juniper’s Aurora location, Foelsch’s memory is hazy, filled with distant tidbits and foggy factoids that whimsically arrive and sadistically disappear, coming and going as they please.

Some days are good. Others aren’t. That’s the cryptic, devastating way in which Alzheimer’s disease works, as the families of the some 5 million Americans who live with the disease know painfully well.

“I’m too old for shocks,” Foelsch says after seeing a group of strangers approaching.

Her face is distraught and her brow stuck in an upward furrow. Clearly confused, her eyes are worried, scared and glassy.

“Where’s my daughter?” she asks as Valerie Valdez, executive director of Juniper’s Aurora location, approaches and gently slips a pair of headphones over her ears.

“Let me know if it’s too loud,” Valdez whispers before hitting the button on a lime green iPod with a small triangle on it. As soon as she does, something changes in Foelsch’s demeanor. Something profound...

Read the rest of this fabulous story and see the incredible video from the Aurora Sentinel.

By Quincy Snowdon Aurora Sentinel Staff Writer

Awaken Your Passion: February Events

This month at Juniper Village we continue our Creative Expressions Series with a focus on Art.

Creating art for many of our seniors has been a lifelong passion, for others it may have been a casual hobby or serious vocation. Whatever the reason, art has substantial benefits to our bodies, minds and spirits! In Successful Aging, John W. Rowe, MD, and Robert L. Kahn, PhD, discuss key aspects of successful aging: low risk of disease, high mental and physical functioning, and being actively engaged in life. Expressive art activities promote active engagement in life in positive, healthy, and fulfilling ways - in other words, nurturing the spirit of life. Recent studies further indicate that older adults who participate in art programs have fewer doctor visits, use less medication, and experience a lower rate of depression – all resulting in lower healthcare costs.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Music, the Magic Healer presentation, part two in our three part “Alive Inside” program series, with Certified Pathways to Memory Specialist, Mindy Sterling, who uses piano and voice to help plateau memory issues and is a strong advocate of incorporating music as a standard practice in all aspects of senior care on February 3^rd at 3:30 pm; our Balloon Bouquet annual, much anticipated fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association so order yours throughout the beginning of February and bring a smile to your special sweetheart’s face on Valentine’s Day with pick-up on February 13^th from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm; or our Art Therapy Lunch and Learn class for caregivers, activity directors or anyone who would like to learn how to bring back creativity, stimulate conversation and just have fun with your loved ones who have dementia on February 19^th at noon.

Look through our calendar and plan to join us this month and “Awaken Your Passion” as we explore various mediums to expression through weekly art programs and visits to local art museums. Or, if art isn’t your thing, tailgate with us during the Super Bowl, await the Ground Hog’s prediction, our join in one of our festive celebrations on Valentine’s Day, Presidents Day or Mardi Gras.