Over the years I’ve written and spoken about optimism often, and whether it is something we are just born with, or like resilience, if it can also be a choice. I still believe it’s a choice, and is worth the effort it sometimes takes. In a blog Optimism and Dementia, published a couple of years…
During this Coronavirus pandemic throughout the last 9 weeks, it has been both interesting and encouraging to see how we, as a community have all done our best to adapt to this time of dramatic change due to the enforced isolation and social and physical distancing. It really does show just how resilient and resourceful…
What’s it like to live with dementia? The Drum, Introduction by Ellen Fanning, 5 May 2020, Reporter Stephanie Bolte When Kate Swaffer started to see words upside down a decade ago, she thought it was a result of brain surgery she’d had. It turned out she was one of more than 26,00 people in Australia…
Image source: Kate Swaffer © 2010 What have you learnt during the Coronaviros pandemic of enforced isolation and physical and social distancing? Although not always easy, I continue to be an optimist, I am still resilient, and I’m good at coping with enforced change. I’ve definitely learnt at least a few positive things in the…
Maurice Ravel, a French composer was diagnosed with a progressive younger onset dementia when he was 52 years old. In an excerpt from an article published in Nature (Whitfield, 2002), researchers suggest Ravels Boléro was influenced by his dementia. “French composer Maurice Ravel … from a mysterious progressive dementia from about 1927 when he was…
Far too many people, including some medical professionals, claim that many ‘Dementia Advocates’ don’t have ‘actual’ or ‘real’ dementia. Seriously. Invisible disabilities are just that. Invisible. Anyway, I feel like it’s time to talk about Dementia and Me again. It continues to be a roller coaster, and I’m needing to talk about it here again. The…
Stay safe and well everyone. This post is a lovely thing to do this weekend if you’re wondering what to do with so much time at home, and so many restrictions still in place. A lovely way to beat the isolation… Holland’s Keukenhof Gardens are closed to visitors during the coronavirus outbreak but you can…
Cuando me sienta tan mal Cuando no haya paz Pensaré en tu amor y en la manera De que esta noche tu te ves. Oh but your lovely With your smile so warm And your cheeks so soft There is nothing for me, but to love you Just the way you look tonight. Tus palabras,…
In these troubling and unusual times, I hope listening to Willie brings you peace and calm.
Press Release from Validity Foundation, By Steven Allen • 16th April 2020 The United Nations has today found Hungary responsible for “grave and systematic” violations of the human rights of persons with disabilities in the country. In a report released today, the UN found the country in flagrant breach of international law for placing people with disabilities in institutions,…
My weekend blogs are currently being reserved for stories or music for restoring hope. Please stay safe and well as we all face this chaotic time together. Andrea Bocelli: Music For Hope – Live From Duomo di Milano
Yesterday, I wrote a blog about the reality of many people with dementia, who are also people with acquired disabilities. They [we] are facing the same issues that everyone is now facing due to COVID-19, but since diagnosis. On social media, what was picked up was not this issue, but instead, the challenges of people…
When I woke up today, I had received an email from a friend and colleague at HRW who has done a lot of work on rights for people living in nursing homes. She alerted me to Sophie Morgan, whose blogs and work I have found to be inspiring; her experience at this time resonates with…
Thanks to a dear friend Michael Horvich for alerting me to the article below on his blog, A Disturbing Read. How the pandemic will end, by Ed Young – it is worth reading! And Bill Gates tells us we are not ready for the next pandemic in 2018!
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