Health
How can you help your parent stay well for as long as possible and find their way through a complex health system?
How to cope when your parent has a stroke
Suffering a stroke is a danger at almost any age, but it’s our parents who are often most at risk. It can be terrifying when a parent has a stroke but making sure we’re aware of the warning signs, as well as the risk factors, can help to prevent permanent damage to our parent’s memory. […]
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How a game of pairs helped gauge grandad’s dementia
Written by Rebecca Lenton This week’s storyteller is Caroline. Caroline shares how a creating a personalised game of pairs for her grandad has helped him recall his family as his memory fades. About two and half years ago grandad had a mini stroke which catalysed the onset of his vascular dementia. His recovery was slow […]
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Autumn outings soothe mum’s dementia
This week’s storyteller is Hannah Davies. Hannah shares how she’s learnt to embrace the changes in her mum’s health as her dementia progresses. Autumn has arrived for my seaside town, and whilst we still get a sunshine filled morning or afternoon there’s no mistaking that the temperature is dropping along with the leaves. I notice […]
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Dementia, creativity and napkins… yes napkins!
Written by Rebecca Lenton A chance discovery by textile artist Deirdre Nelson has led to a valuable therapy for dementia patients in the form of napkin folding. Whilst creating artworks for Brunelcare’s new Saffron Gardens dementia care home Deirdre noticed that residents were often fascinated by the textured edges of items. In particular they would […]
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How to cope with early onset dementia
Caroline Blanchette and Dr. Jacqui Hussey, trustees of charity Younger People with Dementia (YPWD), talk about the difficulties people face when a loved one develops dementia at a younger age and offer practical advice on how to cope with an early onset dementia diagnosis. This is something that could happen to our friends or siblings […]
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Speaking up for our community in Dementia Friends
Written by Sandra Bullen When They Get Older visited the UK Government Cabinet Office in July 2013 to take part in a roundtable on Dementia Friends, a new initiative run by the Alzheimer’s Society and funded by the Cabinet Office and the Department of Health. The campaign is part of the Prime Minister’s challenge on […]
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Helping parents to avoid depression
With depression known to be a real risk in an ageing population, there are many ways that we can help our parents to keep active and independent to stave off the gloom. Our parents can become depressed for many reasons. Losing friends and loved ones is an obvious cause, but loneliness through lack of human […]
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Dad, dementia and connecting through art
Written by Rebecca Lenton This week’s storyteller is Ro Lavender. Ro tells us how watercolour painting brought her closer again to her father, Peter Scott, after advancing dementia had caused a collapse in communication between them. My dad was an architect and a very capable and independent individual. He was a practical man who always […]
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When helpers become the enemy
This week’s storyteller is Sally.After years of being his wife’s carer, Sally’s father began to believe that everyone coming into his home wanted to poison him or steal his treasures. In this first part of her story, Sally describes how her father slipped into delusional paranoia and how his family struggled to help. After more […]
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Recognising signs of dementia
Written by Kathy Lawrence Dementia is much in the news now. But can we differentiate between failing memory that besets the elderly and the busy, and true dementia? Looking at the lists of early symptoms of dementia that are being publicised, it would be easy to have a three-step reaction. OMG that’s me. Panic! If […]
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