Dear caregivers of people living with dementia, including those whose loved ones have already finished this life.
I am feeling sadness today for the changes that you are walking through with your loved one. The hurt and hopeless feelings when your loved one has yet one more thing they can no longer do. The sadness of watching your loved one breathe their last breath. The anguish of not being able to fix dementia!
Our team gets frustrated and sad, too, when we watch the failures our dear companions experience, and the reality that they, too, cannot fix what is changing in their brain, and in their life.
It feels like a weight today as I sit here at my computer. The weight of sadness for what life brings for us to endure.
But I take a deep breath because even through the sadness, Better People Care began and exists to bring hope. Hope that anyone can learn the DAWN Method (it is a lot like learning a new language but can be learned just the same). Hope that when we use the tools of the DAWN Method to meet the emotional needs of those living with dementia, and when we create an environment where cognitive skills matter less (as we understand what cognitive skills are lost, and what cognitive skills are kept, we can create a dementia supportive environment), life is better and less stressful for everyone.
So, we offer you our empathy, because we feel the sadness too. We offer you our help in bringing dementia supportive care and companionship for your loved one and relief for you. We offer you training and coaching in the DAWN Method, so that your life is okay, too, even while dementia changes some parts of life.
Hope is the keyword in caregiving, and even through our own feelings, our highest purpose is to bring hope.
Caregivers, we see you. We walk with you. We are here.
With gratitude,
Jill
