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Category: Living with Dementia

Dementia Hack 2017
DementiaHack 2017: Making a difference with technology

DementiaHack 2017: Making a difference with technology

On March 4th, the doors opened bright and early at MaRs Discovery District for DementiaHack 2017. Throughout the morning, registrants trickled in, setting up their computers and discussing their plans for the upcoming 36 hour-long event. An annual event hosted by Hackernest, Dementia Hack is a competition to create innovative technology to help people with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and other neuro-degenerative diseases. With over 300 developers gathered together to compete, the room was buzzing with eager participants, discussing and preparing…

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Staying Connected and Living With Dementia

Staying Connected and Living With Dementia

Follow us, as Elizabeth Murray tells the moving story of her mother’s battle with dementia. In this blog series, Murray explores every part of the experience of caring for someone with dementia, sharing her memories and insights from it all. Her words serve as a great reminder of the many ways dementia affects our lives, and the lives of our loved ones. My mother was embarrassed when she was diagnosed with dementia.  Rather than tell her friends about her illness,…

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Dementia under 65: Where do they fit in?

Dementia under 65: Where do they fit in?

It was love at first sight when Sandy met Doug. They had both ended long marriages. They shared a passion for work, a love of travel, and had compatible plans for retirement. They clicked instantly. The McLean’s married two years later and were in the midst of living the lives they’d dreamed of when Doug, a top executive, lost his job because of increased anxiety and diminishing cognitive abilities. Things didn’t get better. Doug became depressed and delusional. He could no longer tell time or do math, and he struggled with his…

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‘We’re not running and hiding’: Couple confronts possibility of dementia head-on

‘We’re not running and hiding’: Couple confronts possibility of dementia head-on

When you’ve seen the effects of dementia before, noticing even minor changes in your cognitive abilities can be alarming. Both Yvon and Susanne lost their mothers to Alzheimer’s, so they’re no strangers to the disease. When Susanne began to show small signs of forgetfulness a few months ago, they immediately went to their doctor. After a series of tests, Susanne was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), which can be—although not always—a precursor to dementia. Susanne was given appropriate medication…

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Wendy & David Hughes
It’s not always Alzheimer’s: One couple’s story of getting the ‘right’ diagnosis

It’s not always Alzheimer’s: One couple’s story of getting the ‘right’ diagnosis

David, a kind, quiet and intelligent man, connected to his family, with lots of friends, and very active in his community, started to become withdrawn and apathetic. His wife Wendy knew something wasn’t quite right. The Hughes sought help early, but much time passed before they found out that David has Lewy body dementia. Wendy became an advocate for her life partner. David was initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. As she did more research, she wondered about the…

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Finding Your Way through the winter season: tips for staying safe with dementia

Finding Your Way through the winter season: tips for staying safe with dementia

Winter is on its way, bringing with it snow, sleigh bells, and a renewed importance around being safe in our homes and communities. To prepare, we’re putting snow tires on our cars, pulling winter boots out of storage, and stocking up on salt for our sidewalks and driveways – but for people with dementia, those safety steps go a bit further. If you’re living with dementia or helping to care for someone with dementia, here are some important factors to…

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Research Video Series: Introducing Stephanie Chamberlain

Research Video Series: Introducing Stephanie Chamberlain

Trained as a personal support worker in long-term care, Stephanie Chamberlain is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Alberta. There, she is assessing the impact of court-appointed public guardianship on the health and care needs of long-term care residents. Stephanie is the Alzheimer Society Research Program’s first Revera Scholar. It is essential that we improve quality of life and quality of care to those with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia because how we treat a life that has been…

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Make Your Will Today!
It’s easier than you think to be a superhero! Make your Will today.

It’s easier than you think to be a superhero! Make your Will today.

  At the Alzheimer Society, we believe completing your Will and Powers of Attorney for Personal Care and Property makes you a Super Hero. Why? You are putting the needs of others before yourself and protecting what’s important. Death and taxes – two certainties? While working at Royal Trust as a Will and estate planner, many clients would sit in a chair across from me and blurt out … there are two certainties in life:  death and taxes.  For years,…

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Taking a Step towards Change: A Conversation about Stigmatizing Language

Taking a Step towards Change: A Conversation about Stigmatizing Language

We have all had a bad day at work. Work-load, timelines, and frustration have driven us “crazy” and/or “mad”. Sometimes these frustrations or situations lead us to become “agitated” or “aggressive”. Sometimes the mere act of running into someone can be defined as “crazy”: “It’s crazy running into you here!” But sometimes (more often than not) these words and others are used to describe behaviours associated with dementia. Stigmatizing language and negative communication tends to be used in response to…

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Left to right: Bill Heibein, Senator Kelvin Kenneth Ogilvie, Phyllis Fehr, Bea Kraayenhof, and Senator Nancy Greene Raine.
The Ontario Dementia Advisory Group challenges us to think differently about a diagnosis

The Ontario Dementia Advisory Group challenges us to think differently about a diagnosis

In February 2016, the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology started investigating the issue of dementia in Canada , with the aim of producing a final report by November 30, 2016. They’ve met with myriad witnesses representing many aspects of the complex network of health agencies, experts and researchers who can lend  insights into the state of dementia. Executive directors, doctors, and other professionals helped to guide and inform the course of the study as Witnesses.  But…

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