Did you know that John Wayne’s real name was Marion Robert Morrison, or that Johnny Cash and Billy Graham were dear friends? We did not know this either until we became friends with Mr. J, who was a John Wayne aficionado and a Johnny Cash fan. Did you know that the Fort Collins/Loveland airport is home to AIMS Community College…
For those of us with healthy brains, it is fun to anticipate having time with those we love. It is exciting to plan and organize and prepare for an upcoming vacation. Sometimes the excitement of anticipation ends up being every bit as thrilling as the actual event itself. We watch the world narrow for our loved ones with dementia, and…
Empathy is a cornerstone for how the Better People Care team gets it right with dementia care. Empathy-the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner.Merriam-Webster Dictionary Extending empathy…
A friend asked me recently, “how can you do that work when you have so many people die?”She is correct; my team and I regularly spend our workdays with folks who are living through their final season of life. And we often remain in their lives until they breathe their last. Since December 1 of 2020, four of the people…
Have you ever tried to help your loved one with dementia make sense of their finances? Ever tried to get them to see why they should stop driving? Tried to help them understand and accept why they need help in their home, with their home, and with managing their day-to-day? I spoke with a woman the other day. She is…
I was visiting with some new friends recently, most of whom have some idea of the work I do. One asked if I had worked the previous day, which happened to be a Sunday. I said, “Yes. And my friend (with dementia) and I went for three walks, and for a drive in the mountains, and out for lunch, and…
Last Sunday, I spoke with my friend Nan who lives in Houston. She is eighty-five years old and lives alone in the home she and her late husband moved into decades before. She is healthy of mind and body, except for a recent seizure that left her restricted from driving. Her two daughters live close, are attentive, and see her…
My good friend Lola is 88 years old and has dementia. She says, “BUSY is the new 4-letter word.” Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, philosopher, and defender of Catholic Christianity in the 1600’s said, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room.” 100% of my good friends with dementia, given a dementia-aware environment to enjoy,…
We believe that our older folks are to be respected, and treated with dignity. That we should interact with them in such a way that they feel valued. That they readily sense that we appreciate their history and the lives they have lived…regardless of how that history might have played out. We have the privilege of spending time every day…
This is my beautiful friend Carol. I have had the honor of being her friend for just a bit more than a year. She is a remarkable woman. A survivor, a Mom, a nurse, a musician. A friend and a partner. A protector and provider for animals in need of care. She loves to tell me the story of being…
