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Category: Ontario Posts

I’ll Love You Forever

I’ll Love You Forever

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.” I was pregnant when I first read I’ll Love You Forever, Robert Munsch’s book about the unconditional love…

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Make your Holidays stress-free!

Make your Holidays stress-free!

The Holidays are the perfect time of year to bring friends and family together to connect, catch up, and celebrate the coming New Year! For those with dementia it is just as important to be able to spend time with their loved ones. But managing the extra stimulation a gathering can bring and making sure they enjoy themselves can sometimes be difficult. Family and friends may also be uncertain about how to act and what to say. To help with…

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Holiday Reflections – Guarding Memories

Holiday Reflections – Guarding Memories

As a child, I recall the holidays were about family traditions; the plump orange and the red delicious apple in the Christmas stocking, and if luck would have it a chocolate treat. This delicacy was sparingly consumed, to preserve the experience for as long as possible. There was always a small toy to open, and something wearable, and practical. I recall spending hours, staring at the tree with the tangled jumble of coloured lights, and painted bulbs decorated with idyllic…

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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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Their memories fade, but love remains

Their memories fade, but love remains

When the doctor first told my Mom, “You have Alzheimer’s disease,” I was numb. There I was, only 30 years old, with a newborn son and a mother whose memory was starting to fade.  I tried to Google as much as I could about the disease, but panic came the second I saw the words: There is no cure. As hard as this is to talk about, I agreed to share my story with you because I want to see…

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Make a Will Month – What gifts can I give?

Make a Will Month – What gifts can I give?

November is Make a Will month in Canada – and this is my sixth and final blog post here for the Alzheimer Society. I would like to thank them so much for this incredible opportunity.  The work being done by the Alzheimer Society is incredible and so needed. Hopefully one day there will be a cure for this horrible disease. Now on to my post. The law in Ontario is pretty wide open with regards to giving gifts of property…

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Make a Will Month – Powers of Attorney and Living Wills. What are they? Do I need one?

Make a Will Month – Powers of Attorney and Living Wills. What are they? Do I need one?

It’s Make a Will month.  As guest blogger for the Alzheimer Society this month, my focus has been on – you guessed it – Wills. The importance of making a Will is clear. You get to choose who will get your property, who will be guardians of minor children, and who will manage the business of your estate.  This planning is important to determine what will happen after you die. But what happens before you die? As the people at…

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Make a Will Month – Tips on how you can get ready

Make a Will Month – Tips on how you can get ready

It is Make a Will month in Canada, and I am thrilled to be able to guest blog here on the Alzheimer Society of Ontario’s website.  In a previous entry, I outlined the things you need to do to get ready to make your Will. One of the most important things you will do when you make your Will is to decide who will manage the business of settling up and closing your estate once you die – in other…

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Make a Will Month – What do I need to do to get ready?

Make a Will Month – What do I need to do to get ready?

Did you know that making a Will is one of the most important things you will ever do?  Most people understand that without being told. So why is it that so many people neglect taking care of this?  Often people simply feel overwhelmed.  They believe it will take too much time, and will be too difficult.   While it might seem a little overwhelming, it really is a simple and straight-forward process. The following is a list of things you will…

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Make a Will Month – What is holding you back?

Make a Will Month – What is holding you back?

“When you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you suffer.” – Stevie Wonder Early in my career as a lawyer I had a client who called me because she wanted to make her Will and powers of attorney.  I provided her with the information that she needed and asked her when she wanted to meet to give me instructions to prepare the Will.  She told me she would get back to me. I put her on what I…

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