Health
How can you help your parent stay well for as long as possible and find their way through a complex health system?
How I coped with my mum’s dementia
This week’s storyteller is Lesley Trenner. Lesley, an Ageing Parent Coach, describes how she learnt to deal with her mum’s advancing dementia while making career decisions. She talks about how she now offers support to others facing similar challenges with their parents. Looking back, we aren’t entirely sure when mum’s mental condition started to decline […]
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Dementia care – How to find the help you need
When you’re caring for a parent, or partner, with dementia it can be hard to continue without help from others. We asked the experts behind PayingForCare for advice on where to find the right information to help us when we need it most. We’d like to think that we can do it all on our […]
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Tips on dementia and the family fall-out
This week’s storyteller has chosen to be anonymous. After taking the lion’s share of caring for her mother despite having an extended family close at hand, this week’s storyteller shares some of her insights into making the best of what life throws at us. Recognise that people don’t get it The problem with dementia is […]
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Tips on juggling work, family – and two parents with dementia
Written by Kathy Lawrence This week’s storyteller is Anita.One parent with dementia is tough. Anita Avery found herself trying to hold down a job, take care of a family, and look after two parents – one with Alzheimer’s and the other with vascular dementia. We asked Anita to share the lessons her experience has taught […]
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Talking about dementia – blogging and how it helps
This week’s storyteller is Jill Sinclair. In honour of Dementia Awareness Week Jill talks about caring for her dad who has dementia and how her blog helps her work through the new challenges she faces. She hopes that by publicly sharing her experiences she will encourage others dealing with dementia to learn more about it […]
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Reaching the other side of dementia care
This week’s storyteller has chosen to be anonymous. Our storyteller this week coped with the massive demands of caring for a mother with dementia, and is now reclaiming her life. Looking back she realises there was an imbalance in caring responsibilities between herself and her siblings and their families. As a full-time working mum, I […]
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Remembering the real mum
This week’s storyteller has chosen to be anonymous. Losing a parent forever and finding them again. Dementia can take a parent away emotionally long before they leave you physically. But it’s not always the end. Today I felt a connection with my mum. It’s been a while, and it was lovely. Mum died four years […]
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Will I inherit mum’s Alzheimer’s?
Dear Lesley My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a couple of years ago although it was clear for several years before then that she had dementia. I’m 52 years old and worried I’m going down the same path. Mum’s memory was terrible and so is mine. Sometimes it’s big things – I visit somewhere I […]
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How do I get back the happy memories taken by dementia?
Hello Lesley, I like the site very much and wish I had known of it when supporting my elderly parents. Both my parents have passed away now but the journey was hard. They both lived into their 80s but my mother was in a home for nearly eight years, suffering with dementia and my father […]
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Dementia is stealing away my hero dad and I feel useless
Dear Lesley, My lovely dad is 73 years old and for the past four years has been suffering from dementia. He has always been my hero and my absolute closest friend but now the dementia is robbing him of mind and body. He’s confused, and often angry and upset, and I just want to scoop […]
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