Tag: dementia
The Dementia Rollercoaster – Who’s With Me?
The Dementia Rollercoaster is certainly not one for the faint hearted. Sometimes it’s scary, sometimes it’s not that bad. You never know what’s around the corner unless you ride it regularly. The more you take on the twists and turns the better you get at handling them. There are times of exhilaration and absolute joy but can soon be followed by terror and breathtaking moments. Everyone is scared of a new rollercoaster, as fear of the unknown is a powerful concept. You will be proud that you had the courage…
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Wow!..This Dementia Journey is Bizarre
Spent the day filming a documentary style promotional video for our aged care facility. It involved interacting with residents ( who were awesome) and carers/nurses (superb), voiceovers and script construction. I certainly won’t become an actor, but was a great experience. Let’s hope the final product turns out. I won’t wait by the phone for my ‘hollywood’ call-up:-) This is dementia…
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Feisty Fred – Shooting from the Hip
MORE QUOTES FROM FRED ( the 94 yo grumpy bastard with dementia at the nursing home) Brett: How ya going today Fred? Fred: Up the sh*t if you really wanna know! Fred: that woman over there is the most hated woman in this place. I am going to go over and shoot her in the face one day! Brett: How ya going today Fred? Fred: Not good at all. I am feeling crook. I am dizzy and I feel like I am swimming in a pool of shit Fred: she is…
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Dad Goes Back to the RAH
I used to collect stickers when I was a kid. This is one sticker you DON’T want in your collection. The Emergency Department (ED) at RAH is one of the most stressful, yet amazing and action packed workplaces I have ever seen. Unfortunately Dad is now in the RAH after a very traumatic week. You never know what is gonna happen with Dementia and this week is no exception. Bravo to nurses, carers, docs and everyone who has been helping us….you are our heroes. This is Dementia….
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My Daily Dose of Dementia
My Dad’s Aged Care home is a place that takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions. Each day I could be sad, frustrated, shocked, challenged, inspired, mad, happy, excited, overwhelmed and so much more. People pass away each week, others lose more of their memory, and a lotta sad stuff happens. But what you may not know is a lotta funny stuff happens each day, and I am in stitches most of the time. I thought I would share some of the conversations I have and hear each day: *Martha…
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My New ‘Dementia Adventure’
Today I am 47! I wanted to give myself a birthday present by taking this opportunity to thank YOU (all my friends, family and colleagues) for your support during a pretty tough year for the Partingtons. It has been really comforting and therapeutic to be able to ‘share stuff’ with such a caring and open minded audience. As many of you know, I have poured out my entire life via Facebook (and my blog) over the last 12 months. I have tried to keep things real, make you laugh, make…
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Dementia & Dad – The setbacks continue
Having further setbacks with Dad now which I thought I would share with friends. I have been away for a week and the changes are quite noticeable. Dad still remembers my name and lights up when I visit him each day. However I wanted to give you all some insight as to the daily struggles we are having with his dementia which is something rarely talked about. Tonight I went to see him with the aim of getting him ready for bed. When I arrived at the Memory Support…
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Dementia Does Not Discriminate
This post is not funny, clever, or witty (not that my others are either! lol) and probably won’t appeal to many of you, but it is sincere. As promised, I said I would pass on things about dementia as I learnt about them, and if nothing else, Dad and I have hopefully helped others by raising awareness of Alzheimers and of the challenges we face as a family. We are not looking for sympathy, we just want to make a difference and educate others. Dad has degraded in recent months…
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David’s Speech Stirs the Emotions
I was totally inspired recently by a 75 year old man with dementia called David who in the middle of yesterday’s lunch at the aged care home, stood up in front of 40 other residents and carers, as he had something very important to say. Pots were clanging, people were talking and the ambience of the room was busy and stressful. David pushed back his chair, stood up, and projected his voice over the din ” Excuse Me everyone my name is David for those that don’t know me,…
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