Here are my reviews of the October winning sites at Top
Alzheimer's/Caregiving Sites:

ElderCare Online
Rich O'Boyle
http://www.ec-online.net/
1st Place - October 2000

With a weekly email newsletter, The Eldercare Beacon, the Eldercare
Forum message board, scheduled chats hosted by other caregivers,
professionals and guest moderators, and tons of information on the
site, ElderCare Online is truly a beacon for caregivers. Impressive
awards and reviews received by this site include: Alzheimer's Site of
the Week at About.com, featured on CNN/Time, in Time Magazine, and in
Smart Money. If you haven't already, you'll want to subscribe to the
very informative Eldercare Beacon newsletter to keep up to date on
all that is going on at ElderCare Online and so you won't miss out on
some of the best articles you can read about issues involved in
Alzheimer's and caregiving. Also, each month a featured site from
the Top Alzheimer's/Caregiving Sites list is chosen to be reviewed in
the Eldercare Beacon. Thank you so much, Rich! And congratulations
to the sites that have been featured there!

Poems, Prayers, and Promises
by Brenda Race
http://www.geocities.com/brace03/Mom.html
2nd Place - October 2000

Brenda cared for her mother at home until she entered a nursing home
in December 1998. She was still with her every chance she got until
her mother died about a year later in December 1999. Brenda's site,
Poems, Prayers, and Promises, is unique in that it gives a positive
look at the nursing home experience, through her poetry and photos.
Brenda has collected her thoughts, memories, photos, and poems from
all stages in her journey with her mother and Alzheimer's, and she
has illustrated them all so wonderfully with beautiful backgrounds
and graphics. She also has included some poems that Dorothy Womack
wrote for her during her times of grief after her mother's entrance
into the nursing home and as the disease progressed, taking more and
more of her mother from her. It's a wonderful site, full of beautiful
poetry, wonderful photos and graphics, and tremendous spiritual
insight.


Thru His Eyes
by Tim Brennan
Webmaster: Nancy Walker
http://www.nhisgarden.com/his_eyes/entrance.html

Tim Brennan is 57, and he has Alzheimer's disease. He formerly
designed, installed and resolved problems with computers,
information processing, telephone networks, and video conferencing,
and worked for a major bank for 25 years. When he had a heart
attack in 1992, and through medical examinations following that,
it was discovered that he had some type of dementia, and then
in 1993, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Since his diagnosis,
he has written a column for The St. Petersburg Times (Florida),
and articles for Duke University, The University of California
(San Diego), and some Alzheimer's Association chapters, as well
as speaking, and with his wife, beginning a local support group
for early stage Alzheimer's patients. Webmaster Nancy
Walker of Caregiver's Haven, has designed a beautiful site, and
Tim's articles offer practical suggestions about living positively
as someone with Alzheimer's, and his beautiful poetry gives us
all clearer insight into the life of an Alzheimer's patient.

My Journey
by Chip Gerber
Webmaster: Marsha Penington
http://www.zarcrom.com/users/alzheimers/chip.html

Chip 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. Chips 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. Tim gives us a
beautiful way to look at life, in spite of our losses, as Alzheimer's
patients,
caregivers, or anyone-- as each of us eventually will suffer some
losses in life. Beautifully written, Tim's "My Journey" is a
wonderful site to visit in this holiday season, helping us realize
and count our blessings and to be thankful for all we have.


November's winning sites will be announced this week on Thursday
night/Friday morning. And hopefully I'll get the reviews of those
out sooner in December. I'm trying to do all of my Christmas
shopping earlier this year (actually am about 80-90% finished now),
so maybe in December I'll have more time for this, and also for
taking care of some badly needed updating on my Year to Remember
site, including posting the Top Alzheimer's/Caregiving Sites winning
sites and reviews there.

Sincere wishes for a wonderful holiday season to all!

Brenda Parris Sibley
List Owner, Top Alzheimer's/Caregiving Sites
http://new.topsitelists.com/bestsites/bpsibley/
A Year to Remember
http://www.zarcrom.com/users/yeartorem/