Diane,
I want to thank you for all your great efforts that transformed my nightmares into wonderful dreams
Warm Regards,
Richard

Hi Ms. Diane,
I am writing to you from Jordan , your program yesterday was very nice , my mother is having this disease since five or six years , I just want to share you the experience of enjoying my time with you , nobody can give the feelings she can give to me . If I do not see her for one day I feel like I am going to kill somebody or feel like something so big is missing. But what worries me and I feel I will not bear if she reaches to not knowing me or us ( the family) because some times and for an hour or more she is forgetting us , but this for a while then after that she will get normal and say that you are my daughter. And I want to ask about the medicine is it effective at this stage. Thanks again hope we can do something in Jordan concerning that.
Raghda Zoumot
zoumotrhgda@hotmail.com

Dear Ms. Mansour,
What a wonderful endeavor you have started in Lebanon.  I have just read today’s Daily Star Article:  Association works to fight stigma and promote awareness of the disease on World Alzheimer’s Day.  Yours is quite an invaluablecontribution which will spell great relief for the people of Lebanon including those unaffected by the disease–fighting the stigma.
I wish you God Speed!
Please let me know of any fundraising that is going on, I am not wealthy but I wish to make a difference also.  All the very best,
Marie Zenni

Dear Diane….
My name is Rula Chidiac. I am a Lebanese, living in the United States. I am a neonatal nurse and my husband is a physician. I just saw your show on Alzheimer on “sireh winfatahet”. It is broadcast three times on satellite and I tried to watch it each time trying to devour every word and learn all I can about this disease that has devastated my father’s and our life for the past year. The change in my dad started about eight years ago, but his condition progressed to the worse and much worse in the last few months….I was moved to write to you because number one I wanted to thank you and your organization for the tremendous work you’re doing. It is not easy for people in the Arab world to accept this form of illness. I also wanted to thank you for helping me interact with my father in a more effective manner. You are right , we are the ones with the working brain, the ones who can control our emotions, the ones that our loved ones need to be their eyes, ears, and hands, to be their advocate, to be their helper with their daily needs and to be the heart that reaches out to comfort.

God bless you. Thank you for what you’re doing. I wish I was able to attend all those fantastic seminars you had. Is there a way transcripts from the seminars or more detailed information on Alzheimer’s can be placed on your website? I think it would be a great help too many…thank you again …sincerely,
Rula Chidiac

Dear Ms.Mansour,
I think that you are truly a wonderful person and I admire you not just as a person, but also as a daughter. I think the public needs to know more about this disease and be aware of its devastating damages. I’m in the medical field and my grandmother’s was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease years ago and the it is getting worse. Doctors couldn’t help her and its killing my mother. I just want you to know that I support your association 100% and I am willing to help.
Thank you for effort and for taking the time to read this email.
Sincerely,
Rania

Dear Mrs. Mansour,
I would like to express my sincere congratulations for the highly honorable Association you are in charge of. I saw the whole program on “Future TV” and having appreciated your realistic, objective and humanitarian arguments, I decided to write these few words to express my admiration. Having spent 15 years in Lebanon (Collège du Sacré-Coeur/Gemmayzé) and then AUB, married to a Lebanese
(her name is Diane too) and having lots of friends there, I cannot but bow to the wonderful job you and Your team is doing. If you ever judge that I can be of any help whatsoever, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Bravo once again and may God protect you all.
Very sincerely,
Hassan Behnam

God Bless You,
I know you are not doing this to get any gratitude, but I have to tell you that I was very impressed with the ‘ Future TV Show ‘.  Your compassion is highly commendable.  It may very well be that your Mother may have triggered this in you, but what you have done and what you stand for shows that she did an excellent job of bringing you up in the way that you now are.  Please do not think I misunderstood what you are doing as simply pay back time. Far from it…
I am sorry I forgot to tell you who I am.  My name is Cheridan.  I was born in Egypt but came to the US with my father while he was attending graduate school.  I was eleven then I am sixty one now.
After my marriage to an Egyptian, we traveled a lot in the Middle East because he held several jobs with Universities in the ME.
As for my Father he mostly remained here.  He held a lot of teaching positions in Gerontology.  I grew up (older) with Alzheimer’s as a household word because of his devotion to his work.  A lot of times this was our dinner time conversation.  Even when we had home viewing of a movie it was in the realm of “On Golden Pond”.  He was all over the country starting “Support Groups”.  He counseled family members who were caregivers.
In the late 80,s he moved to Las Vegas where a lot of our elderly are moving these days.  He worked with Alzheimer’s and was very active until a year ago when believe it or not he started showing symptoms of Alzheimer’s.  It was very fast.  Unfortunately I cannot be there for him because I am too sick to travel.  I am actually on disability retirement.  He is in a group home which allows him a private room.  The very fact that I cannot care for him hurts me deeply and in ways I cannot even verbalize.
Now as to why I had to tell you all of this.  Somehow I felt your compassion jump out of the TV which would make you a good listener, and the other is to ask you if you know who started the Association in Egypt because believe it or not I think it was him because I know he traveled several times on business trips particularly to Ain Shams University and I know that Alzheimer’s was a focal point.  It was strange, but even the philanthropists such as Y.Khan are the same (she may very well be because of her mother).  I would really appreciate getting the e mail or web site for the Egypt Association.  I also tried the Zavan web site and got no where I would appreciate an e mail for him as I would like to thank him for bringing you on the program.  I know I am much older than you, but I learned a lot from your compassion and wisdom.  THANK YOU
Cheridan Kady

Hello,
I am a chemistry instructor at texas southern university in houston, texas.i have a friend lester wiggins who i watched in the 80′s strive to take care of his motheralone. i loved his mother and watched her eventually not recognize me then him.he refused to have a caretaker for her. the moment he decided to do this she died as soonas he left her there. i recently seen him. he had been working in kuwait. i am planningto live in lebanon in the future. i would like to be a financial donor if possible. i read the dailystar everyday if possible, and ya libnan. i love lebanon as my home. and i will be forever and always be a supporter of its health, education, and welfare of the children, women, and all.
love, peace, and respect.
Frank Hunt

Dear Ms. Mansour,
I read with great interest the article about the new Alzheimer’s Association that has just been established in Beirut.  I am a native of Lebanon and am a researcher in the field of technology and aging at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.  My research involves the use of technology to enhance the functional independence of older adults and I have spent the last four years conducting research on aging and driving.  The work involves the use of cognitive/neuropsychological testing that can be used to identify patients with dementia who are high risk drivers.  I have also done work related to assistive technology and caregivers.  In any case, I am planning on spending my sabbatical in Beirut in the winter of 2007 and would love an opportunity to get involved with your organization and possibly conduct research that addresses specific needs for patients and caregivers in Lebanon.  I am fairly sure that if we can find something in common, we may be able to secure funding to support our research.
I wish you the best in your endeavor and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Janan Al-Awar Smither, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL 32816-1390
(407) 823-5859 Phone

Dear Ms. Mansour,
A friend of mine watched Zaven’s show yesterday and got the website address of your association in Lebanon through which I found your email address and thus decided to contact you.
My father is 79 years old who was diagnosed with Dementia around a year ago. The change in his well being and behavior was so quick that we had a difficult time realizing what does the disease mean and how should we deal with it. To tell you the truth I think my mother is still hanging at the denial stage and we, the 3 daughters, seem to deny it from time to time. We live in different cities not close to our parents, who makes it more difficult for both our parents (especially mom) and us. Unfortunately, here in Palestine we do not have an association for AD so we do not knowwhom to approach except my father’s doctor who is not specialized in AD. We do not have support groups or counseling for family members of an AD patient and talking about it with others is not always fruitful!
So I am writing to you seeking your kind assistance in providing us with whatever you think would be useful for us to know how to deal with our father and how can we help him and ourselves cope with his situation on the one hand and on the other hand how to support our mother and help her cope with the stressful situation she is living through.
Moment of truth: sometimes I do not know how to talk to my father over the phone with all the love I have for him and not knowing how to communicate it. And when I go for a visit I am afraid (knowing that he might not recognize me) that I will not handle it right neither for him nor for my mom nor for myself. These are stressful moments that I would like to learn to get over.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Rana Warrad