Journey: My Dementia Journey

One of the hardest moments for not only the person with dementia, their caretaker, and their family, is deciding the appropriate time to relocate to an assisted living facility or a skilled nursing home. Like the variety of the disease symptoms and durations, the question of when to accept outside help also has different answers depending on the situation and the caregiver’s abilities and resources (Smith, J., 2016). Many caretakers may view the idea of placing their loved one in a home as a sense of failure on their part; however, it does not have to be this way. With the increasing demand for assisted living facilities and nursing homes, improvements in the standards of care for dementia patients as well as a shift towards more “patient-centered

Jessica Gwinn is a freelance writer and creative consultant who, for the past 12 years, has been primarily focused on clients in the medical, biotech, fiber optics and software fields. Previously, she worked with the Delaware Valley Alzheimer’s Association, managing all the event planning for Philadelphia’s annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s (formerly The Memory Walk®). Jessica was very close to her grandmother who suffered from Alzheimer’s. This article is directed to patients and caregivers.

This is an 89-year-old, was transferred here from Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina on 01/21, for a multitude of problems including altered mental status. The patient can communicate but not well enough to really give a history. I have obtained all this history from her daughter Cynthia who works here at Mayview. I am told that Mamie was born in Edgecombe County right outside of Tarboro and she lived the majority of her life in those areas of Edgecombe County, Pitt County, and Martin County. She got married at the age of 19, and had 13 children. Three of the oldest children have died. Cynthia lives here in Raleigh and her sister Brenda works in Raleigh, but lives in Clayton. Mamie's husband died of some type of respiratory

In the comfort of her home, Gladys will have total control over carers especially those who are familiar with her dementia condition. In addition Gladys’s daughter will be free to take control and make changes with Gladys consent about carers rather than waiting to go through social services. Gladys has dementia which research claims constitutes about 62% of serious challenges facing families, health and social care services in the UK. If Gladys failed to get family support, she would have no option but to receive healthcare services in hospital or residential care home. 215

Angela Kydd has her expertise in frail older people and people with dementia. She worked as a nurse for ten years before working in academia. She is an associate professor at Edinburgh Napier University and works as a co-founder of a Pan-University Ageing Research Network. Over the years she has designed and delivered degree and masters programmes and modules in gerontology. She has undertaken research in attitudes to health care professionals working with older people, self-care beliefs of women with diabetes and her PhD thesis was on delayed discharge from a policy and patient perspective. She has also undertaken evaluations of clinical areas and projects. Her latest project was on developing the culture and care in a care home setting, which

Patricia Smith, a 75-year-old female was diagnosed with dementia eight months ago of no specific type, was admitted into an acute care hospital with respiratory distress. Ever since being admitted, Patricia faces many complications, involving agitation and restless while in bed. Patricia is known to be an independent and selfless woman who focuses on helping others such as her husband, four adult children and four grandchildren. Patricia is provided with a care improvement plan during her stay in hospital. Due to the natural complexity of dementia, the proposal focusing on key aspects involving Patricia’s experience of admission into hospital. Exploring how Patricia and her family are facing the new changes and identifying the challenging aspects.

Life is a precious gift—life is not about the gifts we are given, but how we put those gifts to use. Do you take your life for granted, or does it take a disease like Alzheimer’s for you to realize what your life is about? It’s mind-boggling of how something like Alzheimer’s changes a person’s entire life. However, with the support of loved ones, friends and co-workers, it is possible for one to remain themselves, live with the disease, realize they are a new person, but the disease does not define them.

My introduction to medicine began when I was twelve, and my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Dementia. At the time, my family had just moved to Florida, while he remained in Puerto Rico. Every visit back was a new rung on the ladder of his descent into dementia, with him remembering less and less of me, my siblings, and my parents. His death came abruptly, but brought catharsis, acceptance, and the celebration of all our memories with him. He is a constant source of motivation and inspiration to become a doctor.

My grandmother, 89 years old, has recently decided to move into an assisted living facility after living by herself since my grandfather passed away 16 years ago. The decision for her was not easy, except she does not want to live alone anymore. Though her sons and daughters check in on her all of the time, they are not there 24 hours a day. She does not want

Dementia is an extremely common disease among the elderly, with 4 million Americans currently suffering from the Alzheimer’s type alone. Figures show that 3% of people between the ages of 65-74 suffer from the disease, rapidly increasing to 19% for the 75-84 age bracket, and as high as 47% for the over 85s. Therefore, it is easy to see why Dementia is such a large part of many people’s lives, whether they are suffering from the condition themselves, or have an elderly relative who requires full time care just to undertake simple day to day tasks. The disease can be extremely traumatic for the patient and their families, as the person, who may have been extremely lively and bright throughout their

This experience scared me to my core considering that that could be the future for not only my grandmother, but grandparents everywhere. Seeing that made me realize that no one else deserves to deal with this disease. My life’s mission is to find treatments and possibly a cure for Alzheimer’s. That is why I wish to take part in the NINDS program; it provides the unique opportunity to not only conduct research on neurological disorders, but also to learn about how clinicians work with patients on a daily basis to put into practice the ideas that research brings

A harrowing, poignant account of caring for not only one, but two Alzheimer’s patients, Slow Dancing with a Stanger Lost and Found in the Age of Alzheimer’s is a first hand experience with Alzheimer’s disease that leaves the reader moved, intrigued, and a little worried about what is to come with the aging process. The book is not an easy read as it gives a very unromantic summation of being a caretaker to a person with Alzheimer’s disease.

Dementia is considered globally health challenge. A significant increase of people having dementia is increasing yearly which is proportion to the population of New Zealand. According to Ministry of Health (n.d), dementia means loss of memory function due to the physical change of the brain. Extensive research and further improvement of the services particularly on dementia care is being conducted every year by the New Zealand Ministry of health as a counter action to the dilemma. Thus creating the structure or framework for dementia care in New Zealand is helpful and it was immediately used as a reference for all the services related to Dementia care.

I am from South Brisbane (Logan area). I have been an aged and disability carer in the community for the last 5 years. When I first started in this role, I had a few clients that were living with dementia. It became obvious to me after a short amount of time, that I had not had enough training to give these people the support and understanding that they needed. I do not know how much dementia training other companies give to their staff, however, the company I work for only gives us about 2 hours a year. I want to have as much knowledge about this disease as I can, to be able to give my customers the care that is appropriate to their needs.

Even if I was a young child, I still vividly remember my grandfather being diagnosed with dementia almost twelve years ago. At the beginning of his diagnosis, I didn’t fully understand the weight of this discovery in regards to what it meant for our family for the years to come and how much my grandfather would change with dementia. Towards the end of his life, I began to understand the weight of his illness and that my time with him was limited. Even if his death three years ago has brought much grief to me and my family, it brought us closer together and encouraged us to reflect how much he made an impact on our life. Because my grandfather made such a positive and lasting impact on my life, I wish to help solve this problem that affected him and discover the cure to this frightening disease that affects millions worldwide.