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Tag: frontotemporal dementia

What Canadians are saying: Why does a fully-funded national dementia strategy matter?

What Canadians are saying: Why does a fully-funded national dementia strategy matter?

Though the national dementia strategy has been announced, more work needs to be done. Not only does the strategy need to be fully funded, we also must ensure that it remains a top issue in Ottawa throughout and beyond the federal election in October. We asked people living with dementia, caregivers and researchers for their thoughts on why a fully-funded national dementia strategy matters. Here’s what they have to say: It will foster a network of support for people with…

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MedicAlert® Safely Home® gives families living with dementia peace of mind

MedicAlert® Safely Home® gives families living with dementia peace of mind

It was a cold, rainy December morning in Vancouver when paramedics spotted a woman in wet clothes, looking out of place at a bus stop. Kathryn had been missing for 27 hours by then. Her daughter had dispatched a small army of friends to look for her after she failed to come home from her walk the previous morning. “It was brutal. I thought she was dead. The paramedics brought her to the hospital and they admitted her,” recalls her…

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Life with young onset dementia: What you need to know

Life with young onset dementia: What you need to know

What comes to mind when you think of a person with dementia? If you’re like most people, you picture an elderly person in the later stages of the disease. But here’s the thing: dementia doesn’t just happen to older people. While age is still the biggest risk factor, people in their 50s, 40s and even 30s can also develop dementia. We call this young onset dementia and it accounts for about 2-8% of all dementia cases. Right now, 16,000 Canadians…

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People with dementia speak to Senate Standing Committee

People with dementia speak to Senate Standing Committee

In February 2016, the Canadian Senate asked that the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology study the issue of dementia in our society and to provide a final report in January 2017. On May 18, Mary Beth Wighton and the other members of the Ontario Dementia Advisory Group (ODAG) presented to the committee. View the presentation on SenVu or read her remarks:       Good afternoon, Thank you for inviting us to appear before you this afternoon.  It’s…

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Nightmares or the Orange Pill

Nightmares or the Orange Pill

I’m tired this morning. The lingering affects of my nightmares stays with me. One of the characteristics of Frontotemporal dementia is sleep disturbances. In addition to this I have been diagnosed with REM sleep behavioural disorder. This “… is a disorder in which you physically act out vivid, often unpleasant dreams with vocal sounds and sudden, often violent arm and leg movements during REM sleep.” Normally you don’t move during REM sleep. About 20 % of your sleep is spent…

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Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty

The last few weeks I have been “off.” I have been extremely tired, lack motivation, and am moody. Today, I had another example of how my brain is changing. I was tidying up the bedroom and began to move items in order to dust. I started to pile things on the dresser. I was not being careful but, for some reason, didn’t really care. As I continued, I looked at my South African art ostrich egg that was dangerously positioned…

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I have what? Frontotemporal dementia?

I have what? Frontotemporal dementia?

As I drove us to the 9:00 a.m. meeting with Dr. Didyk a geriatrician, many thoughts ran through my head. Here we go, another appointment with another doctor. One more stupid test. I hate when they ask me to write down the clock time because I know what time it is. I’m looking forward to my Timmy’s coffee. Once Dawn and I arrived at the hospital, we grabbed a coffee and headed off to the waiting room of the gerontology…

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