DEMENTIA SUPPORT
FOR CAREGIVERS CARING
BY TODD LEWYS
When Marianne Nolin first noticed her mom’s mildly erratic behaviour, she didn’t think much of it.
“I thought she was going through changes,” she recalls. “I just chalked it up to her getting different as she aged.” Then, her mom’s behaviour became more than erratic. In some instances, it changed completely. “She had always been active doing things like sewing and crocheting,” says Nolin. “It just stopped, and then she stopped cooking.” As it turned out, Marianne’s mother was exhibiting two key warning signs of dementia: difficulty performing familiar tasks and a loss of initiative. “I never thought it was dementia. When I thought back about her behaviour, I realized there were signs of it going back several years. I wish I had known the signs and been able to recognize them.” Suffice it to say; the past four years have been quite a journey for Nolin, who retired early from the disability management field to take care of her mom.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
MATURE 19
Powered by FlippingBook