Wayne Teetz

To the editor,

Seeing that my wife has Alzheimer's disease, it was with great distress that I read about the decision to shut down the Adult Day Health Care Center on Church Street. This is one place where she can go and feel comfortable and 'at home', without people making remarks about her: She attends the center four-half days a week. On the days she's not in attendance, she has breakfast, then naps in her chair until around 3 o'clock. And then, she may get dressed or she may just return to her nap.

On the days she does attend daycare, she's up early, happy and raring to have Karen the bus driver pick her up in front of the house. Daycare not only gives her one good meal a day, which she'll eat (as opposed to my cooking) but also her required medications. Not to mention the necessary socialization with her peers and the exercises she needs as she is forced into a very sedentary life style. And when she arrives at home, she has such interesting stories to tell me about her day (or was it the day before?). And enough cannot be said about the quality of the staff that runs this service. Their creativity and patience is something that never ceases to amaze me. In short, I guess what I'm trying to express is that I want what everyone wants.... that the remaining years of a loved one's life be as fulfilling, dignified and rewarding as possible even in one's battle with Alzheimer's.

Adult Daycare goes a long way towards accomplishing this goal. Some of these people will be placed prematurely into nursing homes at even a greater cost to themselves and the whole community without this service.

Wayne Teetz

Laconia