When I find a gem, I love to share it. So here’s an introduction to Dr Elaine Eshbaugh’s warm-hearted, funny and insightful blog Welcome to Dementialand.
I’ve extracted five thought-provoking quotes from her post of February 5, 2018, entitled “The Importance (or Lack of Importance of Memories in Dementialand,” which made me chuckle as well as tear up when I read it. One of the five quotes I lifted is pictured above; here are the other four:
“It didn’t matter that what she said made little sense. I will take an illogical and positive conversation over a logical and negative one anytime.”
“I don’t believe anything is ever lost–because it happened. And it shaped our life and the lives of those around us. Forgetting what happened doesn’t negate that.”
“When you don’t recall your past and you don’t have the foresight to think about the future, you reside in the present. And sometimes I am amazed at the joy to be found there.”
“I am in awe at how much people still have to give when their memories fade.”
It saddens me that so many people concentrate on the memory loss associated with Alzheimer disease and other forms of dementia, instead of on the joy that may be found in connecting with the person and the capacities that remain.
If we all just shifted focus slightly, dementialand would be a far better place for those who live with ADRD, as well as for those who accompany them.
Read the full text of Dr. Eshbaugh’s post here.
#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }
/* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */
My Alzheimer's Story 