It's good to see former state Speaker Johnnie Byrd and other directors of the Alzheimer's center come to their senses. ...more

June 24, 2008

Dear Lyn: My 85-year-old mother moved into a nursing home a few months ago. She's adjusted well and has even made friends. She has many interests. She still reads and likes to paint. ...more

June 21, 2008

TAMPA — The struggle over the independence of the Byrd Alzheimer's center eased today when the institute's board agreed to an affiliation with the University of South Florida. Directors of the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute approved a plan to form a separate, seven-member board that would control the purse strings of the center and would include four USF representatives. The plan also would install USF health sciences Vice President Steve Klasko as the center's chief executive officer. ...more

June 20, 2008

The Greens owed $580 to the homeowners association, so it foreclosed and the family lost its home. It's an increasingly common story. ...more

June 2, 2008

It's a tempting offer: Free prescription medications for people who need them the most - the poor, the uninsured, the homeless. Families of people who have died from diabetes, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease call the Judeo Christian Health Clinic in Tampa every week hoping to donate leftover medications. Some bottles are full or hardly used and bear price tags in the hundreds of dollars. But the clinic's executive director, Kelly Nelson, must decline. "We can't use them," she says, "Unfortunately." ...more

May 30, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - An 80-year-old man with Alzheimer's who left home to get breakfast three days ago and never returned was found this morning by Port St. Lucie police and has been taken to a hospital there for observation, authorities said. ...more

May 21, 2008

TAMPA - An 83-year-old woman with Alzheimer's used spoons to jimmy the lock of the house she was in while her caretaker was at church today, police say. ...more

May 18, 2008

Leaders at the Byrd Alzheimer's center, freshly battered from a volatile spring in Tallahassee, didn't wind up with a dollar in state money, and they're planning for the next few years as if they'll receive nothing more. ...more

May 8, 2008

I'm a wife and mother of two, with three grandchildren. I've always loved to eat, so I've had a weight problem at all times of my life. In 1997, I developed a thyroid problem. It was so overactive it affected my heart. It took the doctors more than a year to get my medications right. That's when I gained all my weight. ...more

February 15, 2008

Dear Lyn: My husband is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. His memory isn't good and he gets confused. Our only grandchild's wedding is in June. I'm looking forward to it and he's still social enough to enjoy the celebration. It's just that we have to fly and I'm worried about the stress of crowded airports and possibly losing him. Any suggestions you have that could help make traveling with him easier for both of us would be greatly appreciated. – Mildred ...more

February 15, 2008