I would be lying if I said I have always wanted to pursue a career in dementia care. As a kid I dreamt of being a teacher, a nurse, a rollercoaster operator, but most of all I wanted to one day operate a cash register that wasn’t made by Fisher Price (to be honest I still want to try). When I was 17-years-old, I accepted a job as a server and receptionist at a retirement home in my hometown.
Leona Nickel first became involved with the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba when her mother started showing signs of dementia. She felt she needed a place to talk about how she was handling this change, and a Support Group was the perfect outlet. For the past 20 years, Leona has volunteered as a Support Group Facilitator for the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba. “I love hearing people’s stories and asking questions. I’ve been in their shoes, so I have some knowledge I…
It’s never too soon, or too late to make changes that will maintain or improve your brain health, changes that may also help reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. Train your brain. Keeping your body active makes you strong – same thing goes for your brain. Try new things. Challenge your mind with games, puzzles and crosswords. Visit a museum, take a class, play an instrument. Think, connect and engage. Stay in touch. Social interaction appears…
Dementia can be a heartbreaking disease. There is much that troubles and worries us about it. It can seem that one day we are happily living our lives when we get this nagging feeling that something is ‘not quite right’ – with our own ability to manage our day to day lives or that of someone close to us. We worry that if dementia has become part of our lives, it will lead inevitably to a slide toward total dependence, including the need to move to a long-term care (LTC) home.
My interest in Alzheimer’s disease stems from the fact that my grandmother, to whom I was very close, died of the condition when I was 18. Watching her illness progress gave me first-hand experience of the impact that this illness can have, both on the affected person, and on us as a family as we cared for her in her later years. I vividly remember the helplessness that I felt as I watched her dementia insidiously progress. Being a practical person, I desperately wished that there was something I could do to help.
My mother, Bruna was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in January of 2011. The disease was not unknown to her family. Three of her sisters died of complications resulting from this creeping and subtle sickness, as well as her paternal grandmother. Not long after the second time she had become disoriented while driving and her ever increasing lapses in recall, I decided to take her to visit her doctor. What if she ended up hurting herself, or worse, someone else? I could never forgive myself.
If you are living with dementia or supporting someone who is, you may be experiencing a ‘roller coaster’ of emotions. Some days are so good you tend to forget about the dementia altogether. Other days, the smallest thing can send you to tears. Still other days you might feel a nagging sadness that you just can’t shake – even though nothing particularly sad has happened recently.
This ‘roller coaster’ can be related to the ups and downs of feeling grief – yes, a similar kind of grief that we feel when we lose someone dear to us.
Did you know that up to 50% of Canadians with dementia are waiting too long to get a diagnosis?
For many people, fear and stigma become huge barriers to seeking help. In fact, a recent Nanos survey found that 60% of the Canadians polled said it would be harder to disclose if they, or someone close to them, had Alzheimer’s disease compared to other diseases.
The end of the year is upon us, with only 2 days left to donate to the Alzheimer Society and receive a 2013 tax receipt. Because of generous supporters across the country, we are able to search every day for a cure for dementia and support those affected by this disease.
Earlier this October, 480 attendees gathered at the Weston Bayshore Hotel in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia for the 7th Canadian Conference on Dementia. Dynamic speakers from Canada and the US known throughout the world were featured in 11 plenary sessions, 4 groups of 3 parallel sessions and 11 concurrent workshops over the 3 days; as well as 6 new and notable oral presentations from young investigators and 55 poster presentations which graced the upper halls of the hotel. Day 1…