With over 200 blogs on D4Dementia now, some of them approaching 7 years old next month, I’ve decided to spend my 2019 year of blogging by re-visiting some of the topics I’ve covered previously, throwing fresh light on why they…
Tag: end-of-life
Without a song or dance, what are we?
One of the first blogs I ever wrote on D4Dementia, back in May 2012, was about music for people with dementia. It charted my dad’s love of music, how it became a vital communication tool in the latter years of…
Fixing dementia care in hospitals
Standards of hospital care for people with dementia made the news last week, with an investigation by the Alzheimer’s Society showing shocking variations in the quality of care being given, prompting the charity to launch their ‘Fix Dementia Care’ campaign. Given…
The ‘stages’ of dementia
I had a very refreshing conversation recently with someone running a care company about the ‘stages’ of dementia. In this person’s view, the way in which the medical model defines dementia by different stages isn’t helpful for a more human…
Reflections on 2014
So, the end (well nearly the end) of another year. 2014 has truly flown by for me – a whirl of speaking engagements, writing assignments, teaching, advising, assessing and supporting. Picking out highlights is always tough. Sometimes the most special…
Inspiring end-of-life care
When I had my abstract, ‘End-of-life care: A very personal story’ accepted for oral presentation at the 2014 Alzheimer Europe Conference in Glasgow, I honestly never expected that it would receive a standing ovation from the audience. My presentation was…
A loss of innocence
As those of you who read this blog post last year will know, April is a difficult month for my family. While the spring flowers come into full bloom, the lambs scamper in the fields and the temperatures warm up, this…
Being a pain detective
One of the questions I’m asked a lot in relation to dementia care is around how we find out if someone is in pain. In advanced dementia, when potentially a person cannot articulate clearly if they are in pain, and…
Join the debate
Back at the start of 2013 I published a blog detailing My Dementia Wish List for the year. Ten months later seems an appropriate time to revisit some of these goals and, looking forward to the G8 Dementia Summit in…
A sense of loss
I’ve summed up previously about the feelings of loss associated with dementia, but given the enormity of this emotion for so many families I feel a greater exploration of this subject is very much needed. One of the most common…
Putting hope to good use
The most enduring question in dementia is surely the one that asks if we will ever find a cure? It is something people living with dementia long for, something their relatives desire above anything else, and something that those who…
A good end-of-life
Given our aversion to talking about death and dying, the idea of a good end-of-life isn’t something that has been widely debated. Yet for people who are diagnosed with a terminal disease, like dementia, knowing what would represent a good end…
Keep the faith
One of the first things to become bypassed in someone’s life as their dementia progresses and they become more reliant on social care can be their faith, beliefs or spirituality. This is often as a result of professionals caring for…