Our good friend Carol passed away this week, surrounded by friends and family. Her best friend and care partner loved her through the dementia journey, in their own home, until her last week of life when inpatient hospice was the way to help her be comfortable. Carol was a remarkable woman; an accomplished musician, a mom of six, one who…
The typical pattern for how the medical system addresses dementia these days includes a visit to the doctor, and then a referral to a neuropsychologist for a neuropsychological assessment. This neuropsychological assessment typically involves about three hours of cognitive testing for the person with suspected cognitive change. A report follows, which outlines the specific areas of cognition assessed and which…
If you are thinking of buying new shoes for your loved one who is older and living with dementia, don’t! I know that we want to do nice things for our loved ones, and we want to feel like we are taking good care of them. But new shoes are not the best idea. Our feet are so incredibly important…
There is hope, and there is beauty in dementia. Turns out there is also healing. Don’t stop reading now because you do not believe me. I’ll try to explain how in the world I could be saying that something as unordinary as dementia could heal us. If you’re still reading, please stop what you are doing and listen to this:…
I am a big fan of comfort care once someone with dementia is needing regular support, supervision, and guidance. I see a lot of folks with advanced dementia being put through doctor’s appointments, procedures, tests, that they are no longer able to understand and that bring considerable discomfort to their days. I teach families that we should use the concept…
We said our final goodbyes last Tuesday to our friend Terry. Our indomitable friend, who said the night before she breathed her last, “I think I’m getting stronger, girls”, as we worked to get her comfortable in her bed. Just eight days before she passed away, we were out and about in the community, doing the things that mattered to…
Dear caregivers, We do not claim to fully understand your each and every day. We have a sense that your work as a caregiver is possibly the most demanding work you have ever done, work that involves layer upon layer of emotion. But we see you, and we hear you. We do our best to bring you hope; hope that…
I spoke with a brilliant engineer not long ago. He has dementia, and was interested in what his future might look like; concerned, really. I tried to give him some ideas, but mostly reassurance that as the people in his life learn how to get it right with dementia, his future will be okay. What made the biggest impression, though,…
If we reduce our understanding of dementia to just an issue with memory or remembering facts, then we will not understand (and likely become frustrated or angry or worse) when our loved one walks outside on a bitterly cold day with only shorts and a short-sleeved shirt and no shoes. We may become frustrated (and maybe think our loved one…
I first learned the term “anosognosia” (pronounced uh-naa-suh-now-zhuh) when I was studying the DAWN Method. It made an immediate difference in the way I viewed folks living with dementia, and the care that I provided for them. Anosognosia is the “lack of ability to perceive the reality of one’s own condition.” (Healthline.com; Tim Jewell; 2/27/2019). As described in the article…
