Recently, my family has joined the unfortunate ranks of those who have been impacted by Alzheimer’s disease. My mom started showing early signs of the disease a few years ago, and it has slowly and stubbornly progressed ever since. The toll that Alzheimer’s is taking on my mom is obvious and devastating. Less obvious, but just as significant, is the impact it is having on my dad. As my mom’s primary caregiver, it’s been said that my dad must ride…
Death is a fact of life. Because the transition from life to death is an unknown, humans are full of fear. And fear drives us to avoidance. Even though there has been increasing media attention to end-of-life issues recently, we seem to live in a death-phobic, death-avoidance culture. While our television, movie and video game screens are often filled with images of violent death. And news reports remind us every day of various threats to life. Can we shift our…
Pauline Tardif was appointed the new CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Canada on March 20, 2017. We recently sat down with Pauline to learn more about her background, her goals for the Alzheimer Society, and her life outside of work.
You survived the holidays and you’re now getting back into your regular routine. For many people, the holidays are a time to get together with friends and relatives that you haven’t seen in a while. As joyful as these gatherings can be, they can also bring new worries. You may have noticed that your father seems more forgetful. Perhaps your aunt’s dementia seems to be getting worse. Or, a dear friend may have seemed frailer than you remembered. We try to…
Marilyn Lemay loved the outdoors and would spend every waking moment there. Inherently creative, she crafted, embroidered, quilted and painted everything in sight. If you stand still for more than a moment, her 17-year-old granddaughter Deborah jokes, Marilyn just might paint you. Some of that changed eight years ago, when Marilyn was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Deborah’s grandfather Ron moved from their beloved Elliot Lake home to be closer to Deborah’s mother and family. Managing Marilyn’s care himself wasn’t an…
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…
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…
It’s common to think that dementia affects only particular demographics—like seniors—but Kathryn Fudurich’s story reminds us of how this disease can have a huge impact on anyone’s life. When Kathryn was 21 and in her last year of university, her mom, Patricia, was diagnosed with young onset dementia. The signs had been there for a while. Patricia had become anxious about everyday tasks like driving, began buying household items in multiples and struggled professionally. At age 55, she could no…
By: Kirsten Wreggitt, Chief Puzzle Constructor at Puzzles for Good My Grandma made me pancakes in the shape of anything I could imagine – giraffes, Mickey Mouse, unicorns, and of course full moons. Those childhood breakfasts are cherished memories of family gathered together with Grandma at the center in her frilly apron. I remember that she laughed easily, always had a lap for you to sit in, and that she loved frogs. Of course, Kermit the Frog was her favourite,…
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…