Supporting all who care for elders
Something about this quiet, gentle man intrigued me. I saw unconventional in his grey pony tail, I saw intelligence in his perceptive questions, but my overwhelming impression was a penetrating sadness. His wife of many years had moved to our floor because her dementia meant it wasn’t safe for her to live alone with him. […]
Dementia Has a Name, But It’s Not Your Elder’s. Read More »
Do you have a hot button? An event, a chance comment, something you hate doing because it pulls a negative trigger inside you? For me, it’s anything that makes me feel stupid. As a little girl, I often missed things. We would drive in the country and my parents would point out cows or horses
An Empathetic Peek Inside the Mind With Dementia Read More »
My shoulder is killing me. Tylenol is starting to dull the ache and make it use-able, but my mind is going in 100 anxious directions. As someone with a hip and knee replacement (and the other hip probably pending) I wonder absently how many parts you can replace. Should I look into physio? What about
Important: After research comes action! Read More »
We turned a corner and giant metal flowers caught my eye. I also spied statues of people, but we were caught in the flow of traffic, and although I craned my neck, I saw only enough to know I wanted to return. We did, that night, and I experienced a piece of Ottawa which touched
If Dementia Had a Park, What Would it Look Like? Read More »
As a caregiver for my seriously ill husband, I worked a full day in the city and then, if he was in hospital as he was now, grabbed a sandwich or the like at the hospital, spent time with him and returned home in time to fall into bed. The next day I
Why Are Caregivers So Hard on Themselves? Read More »
“I’ll deal with that later. There’s too much to make sense of right now.” If you are new to the role of caregiver, it’s tempting to take this attitude about getting support. Your elder needs assistance, but probably you’ve already started the process of getting medical backup for them. After all, you
Finding Your Support in the Caregiving Journey Read More »
You’ve been dreading today for weeks. Since you first noticed signs which disturbed you, since you brought your elder to their GP, since you went to a specialist for testing. Today you are sitting in the office waiting for results, and your stomach is doing that grinding thing. Then the doctor tells you your elder
“We Got a Dementia Diagnosis. What now?” Read More »
Recently Dan, my fiancé, had to go from the house to his car in the visitor’s parking lot through drenching rain. Not the visitor’s parking lot across the street, which had been full, but the one much farther down the street. Digging through the various coats on the coat rack, I found an almost forgotten
How is Dementia Like an Umbrella? Understanding the Basics Read More »
My mother-in-law had a secret recipe for plum pudding. Every Christmas it would be served with a choice of hard sauce or rum sauce, and my husband loved it. I wasn’t a fan, but understood that it remained a family favourite. My sister-in-law begged her mother for the recipe, but the reply always came that
My Secret Recipe For Successful Elderhood Read More »
On a hectic trip to the local drug store, I picked up several items and headed to the checkout. I also needed stamps, which I knew can be obtained at the cash register. While I am placing my items on the desk, the cashier begins to fire questions at me. Do I want a bag?
How to offer respect to people with dementia Read More »