At the request of one of my YouTube subscribers, I pulled together a few videos I recorded over the past three years, from before anything really started to happen with Heather. One of the earlier videos is a whale watching trip on Brier Island in Nova Scotia, where I’m quite sure there’s something wrong, but Read More
Tag: reality of dementia
Celebrating Small Victories
Last week I was encouraged by Heather’s willingness to create a small drawing using a few marker colours. Today I brought some new brightly coloured markers hoping she would be interested in drawing again. I sat beside her and drew a few simple flowers while she watched with some interest. When I handed her a Read More
Fear based on not knowing what’s behind her – how this impacts daily activities – just figured this one out!
As I was laying in bed last night, suddenly a little light went on 💡, and I think I’ve come up with an explanation of why Heather has some hesitancy or fear in three particular daily functions: using the toilet, having a shower, and going to bed. Each of these activities has become a challenge Read More
Starting to see more of this
My housekeeping duties are ramping up with time, but I have things set up well enough here that I can stay on top of it. It’s not a big deal.
Changes between November 2023 and July 2024 – loss of focus and language and mobility
Accepting new “things”… the new one is a fear of water in the shower
Hi everybody! Here’s a short video where I talk about how the challenge I had to adapt to last month was that Heather stopped using utensils while eating food, and she started eating with her fingers instead. The video goes on to explain how there’s a new thing, and that’s a fear of water in Read More
Fake it till you make it – neuroplasticity in dementia care – choosing happy
Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or brain plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it previously functioned. It’s the “fake it till you make it” principle. Another expression that Read More
Renovations – moving to the ground floor – time to get a hospital style bed
Heather is experiencing increasing muscle stiffness and loss of mobility, which seems common in dementia. In fact this is often what leads to their demise, when they also lose the ability to swallow correctly, leading to aspiration pneumonia. So the writing is on the wall that it’s time to think about the house more as Read More
The Bum Blaster 3000!
Every once in a while there’s a Code Brown with a challenging and somewhat panicky cleanup. The existing shower wand in the downstairs shower was an anemic gentle thing that just isn’t cut out for this type of cleanup. That where today’s installation of the Bum Blaster 3000! comes in. One has to stay on Read More
How to reach maximum alertness in the morning
This morning at 8 AM, Heather shuffled out of bed and stood still at its foot, which is when incontinence happens if I don’t intervene immediately. So, I sprang into action, guiding her by the shoulders to the bathroom where I got her seated for a pee. Her diaper was heavy as usual, so I Read More
