Taking Matters Into Her Own Hands
An American swim coach’s efforts to deal with the stress of her mother’s Alzheimer’s Disease — and draw attention to the devastating illness — led her to flip, quite literally, by performing handstands in Bermuda and other locations she travelled to.
Beginning in 2009 Massachussetts resident Kim Donovan posted weekly shots of herself performing handstands – including at Bermuda’s Grotto Bay Hotel and in front of Hamilton’s City Hall — at her blog Woman Flipped in a year-long campaign to promote Alzheimer’s awareness.
“The summer of 2009 was moving along smoothly for Kim Donovan,” reports the “Concord Patch” newspaper today (Dec. 16). “The busy mom was working full-time, training for swim competitions and enjoying the summer with her family. She did not expect to receive the phone call that came from her mother’s neighbor.
Mrs. Donovan’s mother was living in Maui, Hawaii at the time. Neighbours were anxious about her deteriorating health and asked her to visit. When she arrived, Mrs. Donovan said she hardly recognised her mother, who had not been eating was behaving in an erratic manner.
Her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which affects memory, thinking and behaviour and had to be moved to a long-term health care facility in Massachussetts to receive the care she needed.
“Kim found another project to focus on while making arrangements for her mother’s care,” reports the “Concord Patch”. “She learned to do handstands. But that wasn’t enough. She decided to do a handstand a week for a year, have it photographed and posted on a blog.
Her two Bermuda shots, taken while she was vacationing here, carry the explanatory note: ”It’s a shame I went to Bermuda and did not get any handstand photos at the shore. I will most certainly have to go back there.
“This photo taken in front of City Hall in Hamilton Bermuda (was) our last day there. The day was intended to be filled with adventures all around the island but due to torrential rains our adventures were characterised by rain walks, bars, bus rides and restaurants. A different sort of adventure.”
Her final handstand this summer was in Squam Lake in New Hampshire.
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