everyone should be helped to let the sun shine in

Mom was taken from her home on November 16, 2012, (the day our best wasn’t good enough), and “placed” in a long-term care facility (LTCF).

Like every human being (whether they live with dementia or not), Mom deserved to be treated with dignity and respect and to be provided ongoing opportunities to engage life in whatever way she could until the day she died. She loved to be active, involved, singing, dancing, and interacting with others. Her lively spirit and sense of humour are captured in the videos below, taken on the morning of November 16, 2012, the day she went to the nursing home.

Sadly, Mom deteriorated more in the first eight weeks she was in LTC than she had in the previous two years. She was given increasing amounts of antipsychotic drugs (a form of abuse), and her care was neglected in many ways. The way she was treated is unacceptable. So was the treatment of Ran Shirdan’s grandmother, Lori Derkevor’s father, Sue Turner’s parents, and countless others worldwide.

We need to change the way we care for the elderly, particularly people who live with dementia, and particularly those in LTCFs. Most deserve much much better than what they’re getting. They should be provided the kind of love and support Caroline and I gave Mom when we lived with her in her own home.