A Day in the Life of A Dementia Sufferer

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• When You Don't Have the Option of Living in the Past...
  We often are told that we need to live in the present, to put the past behind us and move on. For those of us with short term memory loss, this is not a suggestion, but a way of life. Wonder what it is like to live like this?
• Life Insurance- Get It While You Can
  I suppose I am like most people out in the world...I had a good job which had a great life insurance policy (as long as I worked). I never gave retirement a thought-it was always too far away. I figured I would always be healthy-and when I wasn't, life insurance wouldn't be important anyway.
• Talking to Myself, In the Vegetable Aisle...
  I caught myself talking to myself in the fruit and vegetable aisle at our local grocery. That might not have bothered me so much, but I noticed several different people watching me...looking at me like I was crazy.
• Pantry Pickle
  My pantry was in terrible disarray. It had spread out over three areas. My husband and I were constantly looking for things. I had made some attempt to organize the one upstairs. Finally, even I-with dementia and awful short term memory-had to admit that things had gotten out of hand.
• “I Can’t” Was Winning
  I often use quotations to get across my point. Here is one which is my very own creation: "Dementia is deadly on one's self-confidence." My confidence level has fallen. Everyday living is not getting any easier.
• New Study on Memory Loss Not So Earth Shattering
  A new study published online today in the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia proves very interesting to me. Because I have vascular dementia, I am interested in anything to do with the subject. However, having been a teacher for 34 years and having lots of schooling behind me, I know the importance of looking at any study very closely.
• Living Wills: Make Them Early, While You Still Can
  My mind has been wrapped around the word competent lately. It is an especially important word to someone with dementia. Webster's dictionary defines competent as "having enough ability to do what is needed; capable". The key word here is capable.
• My Cup Is Half Full - But Who Cares?!
  With the new year, I have begun to make changes in my life. I decided to have my first dinner party in years. Of course, I had to do things a lot differently than I did in the past. I used to throw family sized dinner parties-twenty people sometimes. I have had to pare down my list since my capabilities are more limited.
• Documenting Dementia in 2008
  A new year has arrived, and I have decided to use my blog as a tool to help me gauge my condition throughout 2008. Hopefully, at the end of the year, I will find little decline.
• 2007 - A Good Year In Spite of Dementia
  The year 2007 started out innocently enough. I had signs of a problem: forgetfulness, inability to follow directions given in any form, etc. My neurologist was concerned, so I was sent to George Washington Hospital for testing with a psychologist. I was diagnosed with Cognitive Disorder NOS. Social Security then sent me to one of their doctors where I received the final diagnosis of dementia.
• Is it Dementia, Or Emotional Baggage?
  I learned an important lesson this Christmas. While I have been focusing on all my memory loss being attributed to the dementia I am dealing with, I have found that there is an area of memory loss that dementia has nothing to do with.
• Surprised By A Movie
  You know how you get surprised when opening a wrapped gift? The gift I "opened" one afternoon was a Hallmark movie entitled "Pictures of Hollis Woods". It wasn't a gift in the literal sense of the word; it was a band aid to my emotional self.
• Lessons from Saints
  I learned important lessons from saints with whom I shared my Thanksgiving Day. I use the word saints because that is what I consider all people who seriously commit to giving loving care to those with dementia and Alzheimer's.
• Living a Full Life
  Even with dementia, I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I know that my life is still full of purpose. I love meeting with or emailing friends. I find many opportunities to volunteer my time. In fact, every day promises a new adventure or acquisition of a new-found treasure...
• I Have Plans To Make A Difference
  I am so excited! I have just attended my first conference on Alzheimer's and dementia. It was sponsored by The Alzheimer's Association, The Jaycees of Waldorf, and other businesses. Besides learning a lot from the guided discussions, I was able to meet and talk with people whose lives are being touched by this disease.
• A Christmas Carol - A Great Metaphor for The Future of Alzheimer's and Dementia
  My favorite story is A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. I love the parts about Christmas Past, Present, and Future. The main character, Scrooge, travels through each to learn an important lesson at the end. This story teaches us that one is never too old to change. I would like to use this story as a way of explaining my memories of, and intentions for the month of November.
• Why Don't I Do What I Need to Do To Stay Healthy?
  "I still do not do all I can do to help myself. And I wonder why. It is not that I don't love myself. I love my husband dearly and we have a wonderful marriage. I'm retired from teaching. My stress level really dropped after retirement. I watch what I eat, but..."
• Dementia Can Be Haunting, Too!
  With Halloween here, I have discovered something new about my current condition. I think by writing about this, I may be able to help caregivers as well as others suffering with dementia/Alzheimer's to know they are not alone with these problems.
• Demented and Impatient - That's Me!
  Interpersonal relationships can be very hard to keep on an even keel when you have dementia. The people you love - those closest to you - can get on your nerves for very real reasons known only to the dementia sufferer. Events around you can get on your nerves, too. This particular blog will center on my innermost feelings of impatience and how it is affecting my life today.
• "Dementia is Not Contagious" - And Other Lessons For Family Members
  My family has celebrated a reunion for 35 years. This year, my role remained the same as it was in past years. However, this year was very different for me. In my previous post, I talked about how dementia affected how I handled my responsibilities. In this post, I'd like to talk about how it affected my interactions with family members.
• Handing Over the Reigns of Responsibility
  What an exhausting, but rewarding, weekend! About 150 of my relatives enjoyed our 35th annual family reunion picnic. I'd like to talk about the effects dementia has had on my responsibilities working on our family reunion.
• A Chance Encounter
  What do a cardiologist's office and a blind, noisy woman in a wheelchair have in common? No, this isn't a joke. These two unrelated things provided a most thought provoking and touching experience for me this week. Please allow me to explain...
• Faith and Hope
  I began to read Thomas DeBaggio's Losing My Mind, hoping to find what life with dementia might hold for me. Instead, it directed my whole line of thought in another direction. What role does faith play in my life with dementia?
• No Remote Control For My Mind
  Warning: What you are about to read might sound crazy. It is just my mind...and dementia...playing its tricks on me. Read on...
• To Decide or Not To Decide
  A bad bout of bronchitis. That's the doctor's diagnosis of the illness with which I was plagued last week. I am no stranger to this malaise, but this time it affected my short-term memory and ability to make decisions. Let me explain...
• Am I Crazy or What?
  I'm demented, but I am NOT crazy. I have lost some of my inhibitions, though...First case in point: I had to open the gate on my upper deck to let my poodle, Julie, out into the yard below. The "normal" part of me looked all around checking for any neighbors who might be out in their yards. (I saw no one.) Then I dashed out in a long shirt and underwear to open the gate. Now, that's the "crazy" part of me.
• Blogging to Help You, and Me
  My name is Leah, and I was diagnosed with dementia just a short time ago. At 58, going on 59 years of age, I was totally devastated with the news and decided to throw myself a pity party lasting almost a month.
• Help, I'm Locked Up and Can't Get Out!
  Several years ago, my sister-in-law had to make the hard decision that her mother could no longer live alone.  It seems that she had become forgetful enough to leave the stove on, etc. so much so that her husband was locking her on the screened porch while he went to work.
• Holes Show Up Everywhere
  Holes.  They pop up everywhere.  Within words I am tpying.  Within thoughts I am thinking.  In conversations with others.  While driving. And these are just the ones I am aware of.
• Keeping Memories Through Digital Scrapbooking...Exercise For the Mind
  I have just recently bought a computer program which will allow me to do digital scrapbooking.  This is a wonderful invention for people such as myself who have a short term memory problem.  It is easy to use if you are familiar with other photo programs or with Print SHop.
• Read a Book
  Read a book.  Sounds simple, doesn't it?  Not to a dementia sufferer...  Even in the early stage, it is difficult for me to remember what I have read once I put the book down or my attention is drawn away from it.  With medication, I am better able to focus as I read.
• Use It (Before You Lose It)!
  I have taken up photography...It seems to be one of a few things I am still pretty good at doing.  This is our baby robin on his/her first day out of the nest...I love the little pin feathers saying "I'm not quite finished yet..."  Just like me.  I am not finished yet, either, though I have recently been diagnosed with Early Onset Dementia.