March 2025 E-NEWS FROM OPICA

OPICA provides comprehensive, personalized services for adults challenged with memory loss,

and for their families. We thank you for sharing this news with others.

"You have two hands.

One to help yourself, and one to help others."

~ Audrey Hepburn

Caring for the Caregivers

by Lydialyle Gibson

Not long after his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Tom Lee picked up a book on caregiving, one of the many he’d devour in those early, frightening weeks, when the future felt suddenly impossible to imagine. Amid all the information and advice, he read a line that stopped him cold. “It said, make sure you take care of yourself, and leave at least 15 minutes to yourself every day,” he remembers. “I thought, 15 minutes? Are you kidding me? That’s not even enough time to open a book. When I read that, I really started to wonder what I was in for.”

Lee and his wife, Antoinette, have been together for almost 50 years, and married for 43. A plant ecologist, he spent his career at the University of New Hampshire, teaching forestry and conservation biology. She was a stay-at-home mother to the couple’s two sons and then an editor at Rhodora, a journal published by the New England Botanical Society. “She’s a wonderful person,” Lee says. “Very bright, very upbeat—and as stubborn as they come.” The two of them loved hiking and gardening together; they took frequent long walks with friends. The small home in New Hampshire where they have lived for decades, on 15 acres of land a couple of miles outside the nearest town, was designed by Antoinette. “She loves it here,” Lee says. “Although—,” he adds, his voice quieting, “her affection for it is maybe starting to fade a bit now.”

Read entire article HERE.

OPICA IN PHOTOS

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Opportunities to honor Zaldy Tan, MD, MPH

and or Cheryl Beck-Benjamin, LMFT

and or OPICA

Luncheon Tickets & Sponsorship Opportunities

OPICA’s OZ program (OPICA on Zoom), is your gateway to enriching experiences from the comfort of home. Delight in up to four hours of daily activities, carefully curated to inspire engagement and foster connection, every weekday (Monday to Friday) from 10 am – 1 pm.

Join us on Zoom and embark on a journey filled with interactive

exercises, stimulating conversations, and captivating activities designed to invigorate the mind and body. Whether it's daily exercise routines, culturally immersive adventures, cognitive challenges, creative art sessions, or wonderful musical performances, OZ offers a diverse array of experiences tailored to engage older adults in meaningful ways.

OZ - OPICA on Zoom is more than just a program; it's a daily

invitation to rediscover joy and companionship through enriching activities.

To learn more about how you or your loved one can participate, please reach out to Emily at Emilyc@opica.org or call 310-478-0226.

Join us on OZ, where every day holds the promise of new adventures and connections.

OPICA on Zoom is now available at NO cost to members of the OPICA Adult Day & Brain Train Programs. Start today and be part of the online community!

Monday through Friday / 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

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OPICA OZ Online Program

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