Once again, I apologize for forever being late with getting these site
reviews out. We had a computer crash in December, bought a new
computer after Christmas, took some time to get it set up, lost a lot
of files on the old computer, etc., etc., etc. Almost six months
late, here are the winning sites for October 2001:

Diana McGowin
http://hometown.aol.com/LILAUTHOR1/index.html
1st Place - October 2001
Diana Friel McGowin, an early-onset Alzheimer's patient, is the
author of the best-selling book, Living in the Labyrinth (Dell
Publishing, 1993)-- the book on which the 1999 movie, Forget Me
Never, starring Mia Farrow, was based. She indeed is a history-maker,
with many firsts to her credit-- the first patient to write a book,
to do a home page, to begin an online support group for EOAD
patients. Diana's Web site shares her photos of her beautiful
Florida surroundings, family and friends, and a recently begun
journal.

My Journey
http://www.zarcrom.com/users/alzheimers/chip.html
2nd Place - October 2001
Chip Gerber is 55, and he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1997. He
worked for over 25 years as a licensed social worker. His daily
journal is online, accented by the always beautiful designs of
Webmaster Marsha Penington of Alzheimer's Outreach. Chip's journal
is unique in that it is not just an account of what he does every
day, but it is a collection of his thoughts, feelings, and
reflections on his journey with Alzheimer's. He expresses his
appreciation of and delight in ordinary things, including his senses
of smell, sight, and touch as he cherishes nature and the changing
seasons. Chip gives us a beautiful way to look at life, in spite of
our losses.

Mary's Place
http://www.angelfire.com/ok4/mari5113/index.html
3rd Place - October 2001
Mary Lockhart has early-onset Alzheimer's. Before she was diagnosed,
she had managed a licensed day care for infants for fifteen years.
She misses the babies she cared for, but she has three little dogs
which she enjoys, as well as having an acquarium, and feeding birds
and squirrels. She is doing a wonderful job telling her story on her
home page, Mary's Place, where she shares her daily journal, family
photos, memories from her childhood, links to other sites, and a
chats for other patients like herself. Mary says "This is a very
lonely disease. If I can help one person with my page it will all be
worth it."

Passage into Paradise
http://www.geocities.com/womack47/passage.html
4th Place - October 2001
Dorothy's book, Passage into Paradise, is her caregiving journal kept
during her time as caregiver for her mother. It is a huge book--
around 200 pages printed out, presented as 25 pages online-- but it
is one that the reader will "not want to put down" until finished.
Dorothy has given us not only her mother's journey with Alzheimer's,
but also the thoughts, feelings, doubts, and pain of a caregiver--
even one who is a woman of great faith. Dorothy's moving poetry and
beautiful photos of her mother are also included, and soft nature and
angel backgrounds help make the book a pleasure to read. Passage into
Paradise has been awarded the Alzheimer's Site of the Week at
About.com and a Suite101 Featured Online Book. Dorothy is a writer
for Today's Caregiver (Caregiver.com), Empowering Caregivers, and her
poems and articles are featured at several other Web sites, including
Alzheimer's Outreach, A Year to Remember, and Poetry.com.

Mary's Nurses United
Site of the Moment - October 2001
http://communities.msn.com/MarysNursesUnited

Once again, forgive me, as at least one of the links above seems to
have disappeared before I got the reviews out. I know that our
first place winner for October, Diana McGowin, has apparently given
up on her Web site after AOL deleted it for the second time. I know
how frustrating that can be, as I've had parts of sites of mine
deleted by various free web space providers, and I've also accidently
deleted my own pages at times, as well as losing files through
computer crashes. Diana has been a pioneer for other early-onset
Alzheimer's patients, and though I hope she will be able to get her
site up again, she will never be forgotten for all she has done
through that site, her book, and in all of the ways she has been
involved in helping others on the Internet.

Happy Spring!

Brenda