Dr. Peter Lichtenberg is a rare find — a combination of a first-class leader at the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State, a respected researcher and author, a renowned thought leader in the field of dementia, and someone who deeply cares about older people.

For those of you that question the generosity of others, Dr. Lichtenberg will change your mind: 
  

I met Peter in a most unusual way. My mother was extremely ill in the hospital for several months. In addition to the physical problems, I knew there were psychological problems; my mother’s behavior completely changed. But the doctors had no idea what was wrong.

At that point I had lost all shame. After reading a book authored by Dr. Lichtenberg, I boldly emailed him (a complete stranger) and said: “My mother is sick and I don’t know what to do. She has been staring at the ceiling for a month.” He responded in less than 24 hours and was a huge help to me.  Find the story at:

He introduced me to delirium—one of the most misunderstood, serious, and common side effects that plague older patients in the hospital. Watch my blog for future articles on delirium. You may know this as Sundowners or ICU Psychosis.

And he opened my eyes to the wonderful work he leads in Detroit, Michigan that is important to the field of aging and longevity.

Check out these resources:

• http://www.wwj.com/pages/888045.php  Radio station link to the Caring for Aging Parents home page, where much of the Institute of Gerontology research and information is highlighted.
• http://www.dementiacoalition.org/  Michigan Dementia Coalition (Peter has been the chair) has easy to understand information about the types of dementia and resources.
• http://www.apa.org/topics/topicaging.html  Page on Aging from the American Psychological Association where Peter has chaired the Committee on Aging and served on the Presidential Task Force on Integrated Care for an Aging Population.

Who do you know?

If you have found special people that do work that matters in your efforts to care for loved ones, please tell us about them.