George Phillips, an elderly man from Mississippi, was going to bed when his wife told him that he’d left the light on in the shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened the door to go and turn off the light, but saw there were people in the shed stealing things. He…
I may not remember the words you say; only the way you say them. This seems true for most engagement when you have dementia, or are afflicted with other serious illness. The Fight Dementia rally on Thursday will be an exception, as the politicians making promises will be remembered perfectly through the recordings of the event!…
Hello and thank you to everyone who has responded to my story on the ABC 7.30 Report last night. For those of you diagnosed with dementia, I am so very sorry to hear of your diagnosis. I would strongly suggest you contact the Alzheimer’s Australia office in your state, http://www.fightdementia.org.au/default.aspx. My suggestions are to follow…
Like dementia, mental illness is also untrendy, redolent with stigma and inner shame, but in most cases is not terminal. I was sitting in a taxi travelling to a hotel in Canberra yesterday and had two interesting conversations. Firstly, the driver recognised me from my story in The Big Issue! Then, after discussing the high-profile…
‘When your child is no longer a child, you will have to find a new language’ (Karin Fossum, 2003, Don’t look back, p. 108). This seems eminently true, yet quite difficult to do. Perhaps this is because the role of parent is so strong, and the desire to protect and guide your child takes over from your…
For many years, I have wanted to be remembered as a nice person… this is also what I heard Tony Bennett say recently when being interviewed on his 85th birthday. He is a musical superstar, and one of my heroes. He appears to have lived his life with integrity, dignity and respect for himself and others. His…
This was inspired by an article I read in The Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday 8 October 2011, titled The good short life written by Dudley Clendinen, who discovered when he was 66 years old that he had a fatal disease. He talks about the profound lessons he learnt, about friendship, about love, about life, and…
A look, a gentle touch, an embrace, a smile, an invisible cloud of love, almost tangible, full of caring and special moments… my eyes connect with my husbands, and my heart knows it is being truly cared for, my soul knows it is safe, and my life is full, brimming with goodness, it makes everything else…
Yes, this is what it is. Dementia is the current untrendy terminal illness. Most people don’t realise or accept it is an incurable illness, but rather a disease that just robs us of our brain function, turns us into lunatics! It is not unlike being diagnosed with cancer, but without the ongoing support, without the…
We’ve all experienced grief. We’ve all felt those intense rolling waves of emotion. But, do we all experience the same feelings each time we lose a loved one? What Are The Stages of Grief? Many have tried to explain what grief is; some have even identified certain stages of grief. Probably the most well-known of these…
I am preparing myself for the NaNoWriMo… which is National Novel Writing Month. It is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. I intend to begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000 word, (approximately 175 page) novel by 11:59:59, November 30. If it is to be, it is up to me! It…
Yesterday I was sitting at home being filmed by the crew from the ABC TV 7.30 Report, having been interviewed by Michael Sexton with Jodi my lovely carer looking on, spurring me on with her ever-present love and support. Hers is a story I want to tell, to make sure she doesn’t burn out… The…
I realised early on in life if it was to be, it was up to me. I also discovered that between Monday and Friday, you are equal with everyone else; you can really get ahead when everybody else knocks off! When you are young, what puts you ahead is the dedication to keep achieving after hours, and…
My daily blogs seems to be turning into essays or short stories. For me, they have become a discipline, almost a way of keeping my brain alive. So today, I am asking: Would you like fewer words? More words? Would you like to suggest topics? Should I add a page where you can ask me questions, offer inspirations? It seems…
You think that your dearest dreams are nearly impossible to achieve. They seem so far out of reach that you often deny them. You make them smaller, seemingly more practical and realistic. And yet, the opposite is true. Your dreams, no matter what they are, are not too large. They are too small. What is…
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