About

Kate Swaffer is committed to meaningful dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders about the critical issues impacting a person living with a diagnosis of dementia and their loved ones,

and striving …
to be inspirational, motivated and positive; loving, adventurous, serious when I need to be; courteous, compassionate, kind, conscientious, courageous, thoughtful, honest, fun-loving, and attentive to detail. I also strive to be focused, to try to live an extraordinary life, to wear clean shoes and to use my manners.

Bio: Mother, Daughter, Wife, Friend; Poet, Blogger, Activist, Author, Speaker and Chef; PhD student University of Wollongong, Master’s of Science in Dementia Care (2014), BPsych, BA Writing and Creative Communication, Grad Dip in Grief Counselling, retired nurse.

Australian of the year, 2017, South Australia
University of Wollongong Alumni Social Impact Award, 2016
100 Women of Influence (Australia), 2016

I write to stay inspired, to share my thoughts, to remind me of who I really am, and to keep tabs on my life, my thoughts and my philosophies so that later on, I can remember what it is I was thinking or doing. I am creating my own memory bank. For me, the acquired habit of using social media such as Facebook has brought with it a discipline of making the effort to communicate! In fact social media is almost the only way to connect with others these days as few answer their mobile phones, even fewer answer their home phones if in fact they have one, and almost no-one has time for a coffee and a chat any more. It seems we are all too busy with our lives to talk to each other, and so this is my way of staying connected, even if it is just in cyberspace. For now, Creating life with words is my way of staying connected with myself and the rest of the world. Thank you for tuning in.

If you like cooking and eating, you can also wander over to the In The Kitchen Page for the global chat and new recipes that were added for Kick off 2012 with Project 366 a few years ago. Gluten Free recipes suitable for people with coeliac disease or who are gluten intolerant, and healthy recipes were showcased during that year. They are now being catalogued on my recipe blog, In The Kitchen.

I am living every day as if it’s my last, just in case it is. I urge you all to do the same!

Signing up to this site means you will receive the link to my daily blog straight into your email inbox. I will NEVER share or sell your information.

Please note: your entries may be modified, and any inappropriate entries will be deleted. The primary purpose of my blog is to recall my thoughts and activities, but I want it to remain informative, inspired, and above all, honourable. Finally, I want it to reach out to you.

No Medical Advice: Information and other content included on this Site is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by a professional health care provider. You may not use or rely on any information contained on the Site for diagnosing a health or medical problem or disease. Comments made by others, and approved for posting on kateswaffer.com are opinions of the authors, and do not represent the opinions of Kate Swaffer. You should always consult a professional health care provider regarding any health or medical condition, prevention, or treatment. Do not delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice on account of something you have read on kateswaffer.com

Kate Swaffer © 2011/12/13/14/15/16/17 | All rights reserved. Subject to the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this online website may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, printed, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

31 thoughts on “About”

  1. Pingback: the amazing gift of alzheimers / dementia: love and compassion in action

  2. Hello from cyberspace! What a happy discovery I have made in reading your blog! It’s always nice to meet someone who inspires, albeit in the ether. I will continue to follow you! Much joy!

    Reply

      • Dear Kate

        I wonder would it be possible for me to get a copy of the talk you gave at the Geneva Global Dementia summit in March 2015. I am currently writing a book on human rights and dementia and would very much like to use part of it in one of the chapters. Obviously if permission is granted I will acknowledge that this is your transcript.

        With kind regards
        Suzanne Cahill
        Director
        DSIDC
        St James’s hospital
        Dublin Ireland and
        Trinity College Ireland.

  3. Pingback: Kate Swaffer is a terrific teacher, mentor, advocate, and human. She’s good peeps! | Dealing with Dementia

  4. Pingback: State of the Art of Caregivers and People with Dementia

  9. Kate, can I have your permission to copy this entry in your blog into my blog in its entirety? All necessary acknowledgements of the source and author will be made. This message needs to be read by everyone, whether family carer, PWD, extended family members, medical practitioners, professional carers and care facility managers. Thank you for posting.
    Peter

    Reply

  12. Pingback: Managing expectations when dealing with someone who has dementia « Dealing with Dementia

    • Thank you Sally. I have been awarded this before, but always find it very difficult to follow all the rules, so will now have another go at it! Glad you like my blog, and for showing me to yours, which I can keep up with now that I know about it. I really like the way you have themed it too.

      Reply

  17. Dear Kate, I shall follow your blog with interest. You have accepted your diagnosis early, and are not in denial. Wonderful! You are able to express what you see from what I would call “that side”. I may be able to understand my Joanna’s thinking as she progressed. I could only ever read her expressions, because verbal skills disappeared early. I have read a lot on Alzheimers, and tried to relate it to our experience. There are a lot of myths there. The journey begins a long time before awareness and diagnosis. Keep that brain working hard! Never relax! Jeff.

    Reply

    • Dear Jeff, I have just re-read this and realise now how long you have been following my journey. I also apologise for not responding to you at the time you wrote this. Strangely, it feels like we know each other now, and I would miss your regular feedback! Take care, and thank you once again for your support and encouragement. I did take your advice… I still don’t relax too much!! Kate

      Reply

The only thing missing in this global conversation is YOUR voice... Thank you.

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