Durable Power Of Attorney / Forgery, Undue Influence, & Notary Fraud

This document was produced by Mary Hackbirth Kirkwood * (unsure of actual name) several days after James Kelley and my attorney Matt Buergler asked her how she had the legal right to retain representation for my father, Ronald Kirkwood, to evict me from his home. My father had not known her name in years and had not been able to sign his name, hold a pen, much less understand a 16 page document such as this. This is all documented in his VA medical records, his medical records from Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar, Missouri, as well as through witness accounts. Needless to say, both attorneys, James Kelley (of Oklahoma City) & Matt Buergler (of Oklahoma City), told her she was going to have big problems.
Peter A. Lee, attorney, guardian ad Lidem in guardianship hearing AND attorney for public administrator Janice Cagle, who served as co-guardian & conservator for my Dad, was made aware of this forgery and fraud of a DPOA. He stated when I gave this to him,

There is no question that this document is forged.

Peter Lee had the chance to save my father’s life. I gave him several file boxes of evidence such as this on a flash drive. He knew what was going on with my father & the neglect and abuse that was occurring. He assured me my Dad would be in safe hands under Janice Cagle. Little did I know, he also represented the public administrator of Cedar County, Missouri in addition to being former partners in law with the newly appointed Judge Dennis Reaves. Peter Lee was paid several thousand dollars when my Dad passed away. (as were Janice Cagle, Elizabeth Rohrs, of Bolivar, MO (attorney for Mary *), & even Mary * herself.) Judge David Munton of Dade County, MO approved all of this without proper notice of a hearing, at the least, to interested parties. (my brother & myself) Peter Lee charged my father’s estate almost $100 for trying to notify me of my father’s death. Thanks Peter! I found out via FaceBook.

Seniors and Conservatorship – helping you understand.

Seniors and Conservatorship – helping you understand..

7 months ago the world lost an amazing man, Ronald Kirkwood

I miss you Dad! I’m not done yet with the people that contributed to your death by any means.

Mother Teresa quote

“People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you’ve got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God; It was never between you and them anyway.” ~ Mother Teresa

Alzheimer’s and Music: “Conducting” an Emotional Visit to My Beloved, Demented Romanian Soul Mate

Repost from: http://www.alzheimersreadingroom.com/2012/01/alzheimers-and-music-conducting.html#more

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

After this improvised “concert” I resolved to stop being upset that my “old Ed” was gone forever. I became determined to relate to him on whatever level I could. I rejoiced in the knowledge that I could make him happy.

By Marie Marley

Ed

Family caregivers and others caring for those with Alzheimer’s have long known that music is special to these individuals. It won’t stop or slow the progression of their disease, but it can be of significant benefit to them in many other ways.

Music has the power to reach Alzheimer’s patients on a deep level.

Many can sing songs, including most or even all of the lyrics, long after their dementia has progressed beyond the point of recognizing loved ones, dressing themselves, or even remembering what happened five minutes earlier.

Most importantly, however, music can have positive effects on the health and social functioning of Alzheimer’s patients. After listening to music some are clearly more calm, in a better mood and more outgoing than before, which improves the quality of life for both the patient and the caregiver.

Finally, music has actually been found to help those with dementia retrieve some memories their caregivers had assumed were lost forever.

My beloved 92-year-old Romanian soul mate, Ed, had been a university professor of French and a classical music lover. He loved orchestral music, especially that of Bach, Handel, Mozart and Beethoven.

He hated all forms of vocal music, however, and was always telling me he couldn’t stand to see singers on stage “with the open mouth.” Whenever he said that he opened his mouth wide and grossly mimicked an opera star hitting a really high note. I could never figure out how he thought they were supposed to emit sound without “the open mouth.”

At any rate, he’d always enjoyed watching conductors on TV, especially the flamboyant ones. The wilder they were, the more he loved watching them.

Being a former performer who had spent years playing in orchestras, I had tried to convince him that the flashy ones didn’t necessarily obtain any greater result from the players than the more sedate ones, but he never believed me.

When Ed became demented I was emotionally devastated, as are all caregivers at one point or another. My biggest sorrows was that I couldn’t find ways to have meaningful interactions with him. The worst part of it was that he had lost the ability to talk on the phone – something we’d previously done for hours every day.

In person visits weren’t much better. Although he was capable of light verbal exchanges, he wasn’t able to engage in the lively conversations we’d always had. Mostly he would deliver his two long monologues at every visit. They never varied. It was as though this demented man had actually memorized them.

One long monologue was full of praise about how beautiful I was; the other was about how lucky he was that I was visiting him.

I should have been delighted by all the affection and praise in these two monologues, but unfortunately I wasn’t. At that point I wasn’t able to accept his condition. I wanted to talk with him as we did before he became demented – not be simply talked to by him. Not be presented with the same material he repeated verbatim at every single visit.

I wanted my old Ed back. I wanted back the great man I had loved for over thirty years. The one who had been my rock. The man who had always supported me emotionally. Who had always there for me. The man with whom I talked for hours and with whom I laughed heartily during many of our conversations.

I couldn’t accept this new demented Ed with whom I had difficulty connecting, and who usually didn’t understand what I was telling him on the few occasions when I talked about what was going on in my life.

When I voiced my lament to my friends many of them suggested that I look at old photos with him, watch his favorite TV shows with him, or listen to music with him.

I had always assumed that listening to music with Ed would be boring for both of us, but one day I relented and decided to try it anyway since that particular day I couldn’t seem to reach him at all by any other means.

After trying to converse with him for a while and after listening to his two lovely but boring (to me) lengthy monologues, I put on a CD of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony and started it at the last movement.

I was greatly surprised by his reaction. Almost immediately his eyes sparkled, his whole face beamed, he sat up straight, and moved in time with the music. It was a joy to see him come to life like that.

Then, for some reason I can’t explain, I began ‘conducting’ the music and I did it in the style of his previous favorite conductors. I conducted with both hands, arms flying around, sometimes in tandem, other times going in opposite directions. That made him really smile, which made me smile and encouraged me to keep going and become even showier.

I pretended I had a baton in my right hand, and cued each section of the orchestra when it was time for their entrances. My background in music helped me pull off this whole charade in a convincing and entirely accurate manner – not that Ed would have known the difference.

Ed continued smiling broadly and moving perfectly in time with the music, which really impressed me. Typically those days he couldn’t do anything remotely near perfect.

I stretched out both arms and bounced up and down on the balls of my feet when the music was loud, then crouched down and conducted in a tiny circumscribed area using only my right hand when the music was soft.

When the music was the most pianissimo, I put my left index finger up to my lips in a “shh . . .” gesture while my right hand continued conducting in small circles. He laughed out loud at these motions which, again, inspired me to continue.

I constantly shifted my gaze to the section of the orchestra that was playing the most prominent role at a given moment.

After the final chord I made a gigantic melodramatic cut off movement, remained completely immobile for a few seconds, then bowed deeply – first to the right, then center, then left.

Ed, who had been sitting in the rocking chair during this entire theatrical production, looked positively radiant. After my final bow he looked at me and said in a soft and almost reverent tone of voice, “What you did was so beautiful.”

It brought tears to my eyes. How wrong I had been. Listening to music with Ed had been anything but boring. It had opened up a new way of relating that was satisfying to both of us. It had brought him great joy and consequently brought me joy as well.

After this improvised “concert” I resolved to stop being upset that my “old Ed” was gone forever. I became determined to relate to him on whatever level I could. I rejoiced in the knowledge that I could make him happy. I could make him smile and laugh – things he hadn’t done for months.

Seeing his joy became enough for me, and I decided to continue these performances he loved so much. All of this confirmed what I should have realized all along – music can indeed reach demented people on a deep level.

I invite all of you share your own stories about using music with your Alzheimer’s loved ones.

Also see:

• Alzheimer’s and Music: How a Classical Violinist Brought Great Joy to My Demented Romanian Soul Mate
• Music and Alzheimer’s Disease: Using Music to Engage, Comfort and Bring Joy to Your Loved Ones

Marie Marley, PhD, is a professional medical grant writer who, over the years, acquired a keen understanding of many geriatric topics, including dementia. . In Come Back Early Today: A Memoir of Love, Alzheimer’s and Joy she describes her remarkable 30-year relationship with Edward Theodoru, PhD, a delightfully colorful yet wickedly eccentric Romanian gentleman – the love of her life. Learn more about their story at Come Back Early Today.

More Insight and Advice for Caregivers

• How Alzheimer’s Spreads Throughout the Brain
• Test Your Memory for Alzheimer’s (5 Best Self Assessment Tests)
• What is Alzheimer’s Disease?
• What is Dementia?
• What’s the Difference Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
• Communicating in Alzheimer’s World
• How the Loss of Memory Works in Alzheimer’s Disease, and How Understanding This Could Help You
• Learning How to Communicate with Someone Suffering From Alzheimer’s Disease
• Alzheimer’s World — Trying to Reconnect with Someone Suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease
• Does the Combination of Aricept and Namenda Help Slow the Rate of Decline in Alzheimer’s Patients
• About the Alzheimer’s Reading Room

Original content Marie Marley, the Alzheimer’s Reading Room