They say growing old is not for sissies, well Alzheimer’s disease is definitely not for sissies. As my lovely mother Anne loves to say, ‘every cloud has a silver lining.’ So I search for the silver lining in my mother’s disease. Sometimes I have to think and look really hard, but I see it. First, some background and mea culpa. I often find myself talking about my mom in the past tense even while she’s with me. “She had a…
The DSDC International Dementia Conference in Birmingham England this year will be a great place to share ideas, and carers and people with dementia are welcome. The Alzheimer Society of Canada’s Mary Schulz is on the programme and we look forward to hearing from friends from around the world. At the Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC), we do what we can to help families by providing information about what works and makes a difference. There is a lot that can…
I was ten years old when I first noticed the problem. My whole family was attending my brother’s hockey game on a typical Thursday night. My Papa came to every game since I could remember. As we prepared to leave, there was only one person missing, my Papa Joe. With no sign of him in the arena, we went out into the parking lot to check if he was taking a minute and having a smoke. But to our surprise…
Elizabeth Barrie is a First Link® outreach worker for the Alzheimer Society of Oxford. She shares her personal connection to the disease. What is your connection to Alzheimer’s disease? My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease when I was parenting three young daughters. I had to juggle the expectations of motherhood with the demands of supporting my parents as they navigated the uncharted waters of dementia. Never one to complain or dwell on the negative, Mom continued to participate actively…
It is difficult to understand Alzheimer’s disease until you are living with someone who has it. For me it was when my Grandma got it. She had lived with us for my entire life, and played a huge role in my upbringing. First it was the little things, simple tasks that we take for granted, such as preparing a meal. While I could deal with changes like that, the hardest part was accepting that someone who had always protected and…
One of the best ways to spread an important message is through your social circles, your own sphere of influence. National Hospice Palliative Care Week’s official theme for 2015 is The Power of 10: Let’s talk about Hospice Palliative Care.
I’ve been around Alzheimer’s all of my adult life. When I was 18, my grandmother was diagnosed with the disease. She died when I was 25. My grandfather was diagnosed when I was 28. He was gone by the time I was 40. My mother had already been diagnosed by then, and was gone by the time I was 53. It was then that I began my mission to create Alzlive, a media platform specifically designed for the unpaid family…
This story first appeared on alzlive.com, a web site devoted to the unpaid family caregivers of those living with dementia. Visiting a bank or other financial office can be challenging. Even in today’s electronic world some financial matters need to be handled in person at the financial institution. Keeping an individual with early or mid-stage Alzheimer’s participating in the management of their money for as long as possible is an important part of ensuring their voice is heard and their dignity…
My dear mom is 88 years old and lives in a long-term care facility where she is given excellent care. Mom has dementia and along with it aphasia, which affects her ability to use language to communicate. While she doesn’t seem to recognize most relatives and longtime friends, she still knows me, her daughter. I can tell by the way her face lights up when she sees me. She introduces me to the staff every time saying, “This is my…
When I think of dementia and what it entails I think of a “living loss”. On some level, no matter what our age, we look up to our mothers for guidance and advice. It is difficult to acknowledge the changes that come with dementia. Suddenly it seemed my mother was not the mother I had known for my entire life. It was a huge loss for me and for my sisters. My mother has been my greatest teacher. She taught…