By Kathy Montero PART ONE: Several years ago, when our youngest child was only 3, my husband and I found ourselves suddenly responsible for caring for all four of our aging parents within a 6-month period. Each of us had a parent with ‘yet to be diagnosed’ Alzheimer’s Disease and when the other parental half…
By Jessie Hrivnak In early 2020 my Dad was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. It was not a term that I had heard before and knew very little about the disease. I quickly learned the impact that Lewy Body Dementia would have not only on my Dad, but on our family as a whole –…
by Michelle Colgate The shadow of doubt in my father’s eyes, the inability to find the right word, losing his way home from the grocery store and forgetting that his wife had died: these events are quick snapshots of the impact that dementia had on my father. Dementia’s slow creep of darkness took my father’s…
By Scott Yates Sometimes I feel overwhelmed as the caregiver for my wife with Alzheimer’s. With Dementia Alliance of N.C., I know I am not alone. Help surrounds me in the community. I am blessed to be able to work from home and care for my wife. When the pandemic struck, we adapted. All was…
by Latorius Adams, MHS Caregiving is a universal occupation and at some point in our lives, we all hold this unpaid position. In small dosage it is manageable, however, juggling competing caregiving demands with the demands of your own life on a daily basis can be quite a challenge. Caring for a person with a…
2021 Lina Mae Edwards Young Investigator Research Grant Announced! Dementia Alliance of North Carolina is pleased to announce the winner of the 2021 Lina Mae Edwards Young Investigator Research Grants. James R. Bateman, MD, MPH, of Wake Forest University Health Sciences will be awarded $100,000 for his project titled “Autonomic Biomarkers of Mild Behavioral Impairment…
Written by Ryleigh Jasmin for dementianc.org More than six million Americans live with Alzheimer’s, and there are several more with other types of dementia. In fact, dementia deaths have increased by 16% since the pandemic started, yet even before COVID-19, caring for this particular demographic was always a challenging task. Add COVID-19’s social distancing and…
Helping individuals with hearing loss live happier, more involved lives Submitted by Dr. Angela Bright Pearson, Audiologist Bright Audiology www.brightaudiology.com My mother has had dementia over the last 10 years; so, I know firsthand how challenging dementia is for patients and their family members. No one knows how difficult it is for a dementia patient…
Tube Feeding in People Living with Dementia Melanie Bunn, RN, MS, GNP Food is one of the most powerful ways we show love and affection for each other. We meet friends for lunch or coffee, remember fondly special family and holiday meals, and celebrate rites of passage with traditional recipes. From the moment of…
On the 1st day of Holiday Caregiving… Enjoy making memories. Don’t get so involved in the plans you forget the point of the activity or event. The experience may not be like it used to be (especially this year) but you can still find the magical moments, the moments of joy. Especially for the person…