The Russell family were the honored caregivers at the Help and Hope Dinner benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association. We raised a record amount of $533,000. Jim Russell gave the following message.
I do not accept this honor trusting in our own righteousness, rather with the great blessings we have received.
We were blessed with the Alzheimer’s Association’s counseling, information, and support groups. Erica Farrell guided a pivotal family council allowing Lynne’s boys to say, “Mom, we want you to move into assisted living.”
We were blessed by staff at Aegis living who treated Lynne as a friend and guided her mission to care for older RESIDENTS.
We were blessed with Lynne’s Posse of friends from Microsoft. (Please stand). For seven years they visited Lynne and me with music, stories, home-cooked meals, exercises, parties, and concerts. They alerted us to unmet needs.
We were blessed with Lynne’s friends on Facebook: — grade-school, high-school, college, Seattle U, co-teachers, and neighbors. They posted story after story on ways Lynne made a difference in their lives.
We were blessed with postings of each other’s successes and failures. We cared for each other. We kept adapting her care. The Alzheimer’s Association cared for all of us.
I was blessed to be at the heart of love more profound than I ever imagined.
We are humbled to be honored. We hope. We help.