I love this picture, and the name of the food stall… these boys are hardly fat!! We’re in Adelaide airport waiting for our flight to Kuala Lumpur where we have two whole days to enjoy the sights. Mostly though, I’m really looking forward to the food!! In fact I’ve been drooling ever since we booked … Continue reading »
Tagged with Richard Taylor …
Wishing Richard Taylor well for his surgery
As I type, Richard is probably under the influence of anaesthetic drugs and the robotic arm at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas USA. He will spend 6-10 hours on the operating room table with a six armed robot surgery machine named Da Vinci. As most of you already know he just completed a month of chemotherapy, … Continue reading »
Dementia, madness and neuroscience
In many of my presentations, I say; “The changes brought on by dementia are relentless, yet most people don’t see them as disabilities just as external symptoms. Many also think it is a mental illness, which it is not. The word Dementia is taken from Latin, originally meaning “madness”; no wonder we struggle against the … Continue reading »
The power of Richard Taylor
This morning, I was sure I posted a blog titled; Melatonin and Exercise Help in Alzheimer’s Disease. However, it has ‘disappeared’; I’ve just tuned in to do some work on one of my drafts, and simply cannot find it. Of course, it must be ‘user error’ that has caused its disappearance, but if anyone who gets my blogs … Continue reading »
Stand up and speak out…
Recently I posted Jennifer Bute’s story of being diagnosed with dementia. A couple of her quotes really stood out to me. The first quote is about compensating for the symptoms of dementia: ‘To compensate, I became ruthlessly efficient, writing everything down as soon as I had spoken to the patient and following up referrals immediately. However, I … Continue reading »
Jennifer’s story
Jennifer Bute from the UK has become a wonderful friend of mine; we met at ADI London last year, and like me and Richard Taylor, she is fighting the symptoms of dementia as if it is the Olympics race of her life. Dementia from the inside is her story; Jennifer Bute. She is using her … Continue reading »
Living outside the stigmas and expectations of others
Recently Richard Taylor wrote to the following message to a person with younger onset dementia living in Queensland who had connected with him via his website; “Thank you for taking the time to write. Have you met Kate Swaffer? She is a kindred spirit, who also lives in Australia, of ours who hears the same … Continue reading »
The train wreck of dementia
The story I posted earlier this week DEMENTIA: The Long 24 Hours by Norman McNamara tells of Norms dementia journey with great clarity, and ripped our heart-strings right out of our chest. Reading it was devastating; it was like viewing our own dementia train crashing. Norms courage in sharing it is inspiring, and he and Richard Taylor will help keep me motivated … Continue reading »
Sharing and caring
When our children are small, we constantly suggest they share their toys with their friends… we say or imply sharing is caring. My interpretation of the Maria Montessori method of teaching children through play was sharing should not be forced, but would happen naturally when the child felt safe and that they can trust the … Continue reading »
Richard Taylor
Dear Richard, You have been my shining beacon of light since my diagnosis of younger onset dementia. My Google and I were best friends for the first few weeks as I searched for information about dementia, and for help. Any form of help, as there seemed to be none out there, and I had not been … Continue reading »
‘LUCKY’ spelt as ‘HARD WORK’
Appearing as if you are LUCKY virtually always comes through effort and so I usually spell lucky like this: HARD WORK! I heard recently that I have been called lucky because the symptoms of my dementia do not seem to be progressing as quickly as the initial prognosis predicted, or as some others who’ve been diagnosed. This … Continue reading »
Is your glass half full or half empty?
In a tribute to a loved one living with a diagnosis of dementia somewhere on the beautiful site Moving Your Soul she said; “I couldn’t see the woman she really was, I could only see what I was missing in her. Now, I can see who she is, who she’s always been, a positive woman … Continue reading »
People with dementia as Advocates
There are many positive things happening globally about dementia. Research is making small headway, governments are at least starting to listen, the carers of people living with dementia have had a strong voice for some time, and now, very occasionally people with dementia are speaking out. Richard Taylor and Christine Bryden are two people I … Continue reading »
Talking about dementia
I started blogging to record my world. My blog now also tries to highlight the human and personal costs of a diagnosis of dementia, the significant financial impact to individuals and families, and responds to the current status of age appropriate resources and services, or lack thereof, for people diagnosed with younger onset dementia and … Continue reading »
I can’t find the chicken
Well, I did eventually find it… In the microwave; 3 or 4 days later when the stench took over the kitchen! This happened some time ago, and silly little things like this are happening to me every day now, much more often. Not monumentally catastrophic, but annoying and life changing just the same. Things that … Continue reading »
