“Honey, I lost another one…”
“Okay, let me get my glasses on so I can find my shoes.”
“Why do you need shoes?”
“So I can help you find what you lost.”
“Are you okay? We don’t need shoes to find the word I lost just now.”
As I get older I cant tell you how many names and words seem to slip out of my brain when I need them. It’s easy to wonder: Do I have dementia? Am I at risk????
***
There are still soooo many things we don’t know about this condition. If anything it has broadened as a field of study.
It’s easy to get frustrated when mom, dad, auntie, uncle can’t remember me or cant remember how to put his or her clothes on. I want to fill in the blanks when they drop a word or when speech slows.
Diet ( a happy brain has healthy oils, low sugar, fiber) and activity play an important role as we age; this also being the case with dementia. Family members struggle because there is a new normal that isn’t their normal. It can be easier for an “outside” caregiver because we are not as familiar with the way that person was.
Beyond diet and activity it’s also important to engage. Not easy I promise but it is rewarding when you can “get in” to the world of an elderly person.
***
Dementia Case #1
What are we doing?
Well a man named Isaac Newton did it why cant we? I said as I started dropping a heavy item from one hand and a light item from my other hand.
“Look you better let me do it; you could get hurt.” He couldnt hide the chuckle.
“Okay Mr. D but first you have to predict if the feather or the rock will hit the floor first. ”
“What are these again?”
“They are finger puppets.”
Mr. C walked across the room making his finger puppet fly and made a bird call.
“This is strictly for scientific purposes you know.” He said as he looked over his shoulder.
“What do you wanna bet that my paper fighter plane can fly further than yours.”
“We will have to see after all this is science in the making. ” Mr C. said as he flung his paper airplane across the backyard.
We did a great job with my science curriculum the publisher will be pleased. No telling your family what we were doing.
***
Last summer as I was preparing lessons and activities for a Science curriculum ( we published for schools in E. Africa), I used Mr. D to help practice the science activities. We made bird puppets, demonstrated gravity with different objects, made and flew planes.
***
Welcome to Moondustwriter’s Blog. I am participating in the 2020 A to Z Challenge.
If you are participating how are you enjoying the challenge after the first “week’?
You may have an aging family member in your home.
How do you deal with your family member when they seem to be forgetting or losing a big part of who they used to be?
What are some of your challenges?
If you like dragons
Or
You have a child at home who likes dragons
OR
you are spending your day reading stuff and what the heck dragons are okay
“D” obviously for dragons – https://wp.me/pDORj-6fi
It’s part of a series of children’s stories that we were finalizing when we were invited to publish science curriculum for E. Africa.
penned in moon dust 