Drama on the High Seas at Ecumen Prairie Lodge

The “mateys” at Ecumen Prairie Lodge in Brooklyn Center recently put on a pirate play, complete with pretend swords, sea monsters, booty and buccaneers.  It was a glorious day of make-believe on the high seas.

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Dementia Friendly “Memory Café” Concept Moves to Rural Minnesota

Willmar, Minn., is among the first rural areas to launch the memory cafe approach to help those with dementia. 

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North Branch Reporter and Mayor Get a Dementia Simulation at Ecumen North Branch

Mike Bleninger, a reporter for The Post Review in North Branch, Minn., and North Branch Mayor Kristen Hagen-Kennedy got a firsthand sense of what it’s like to have dementia. 

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Dementia Symptoms May Have Other Causes — And Be Reversible

Don't assume dementia symptoms always mean a dementia diagnosis.

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Dementia-Friendly Communities Emerging in Midwest

Around Minnesota and Wisconsin, you will be seeing more businesses posting a new window cling with a purple angel symbol and this message: “We are a Dementia Friendly Business.”

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An Unlikely Caregiver Battles Dementia with Friendship at Ecumen Prairie Hill in St. Peter

Doug Mehlhaff’s job description is about caretaking rather than caregiving.  But lately it’s hard to make the distinction.

As Environmental Services Manager at Ecumen Prairie Hill and Sand Prairie in St. Peter, Minn., Doug is responsible for the bricks and mortar and the surrounding grounds — making sure the residents have a safe, clean and well-maintained place to live.

But when you see Doug working at that job, very often you see Bill Sexe too.  Bill is 63 years old and is a resident at Ecumen Prairie Hill. He has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and Lewy body disease, a progressive brain disorder that cause motor impairment and is the second leading cause of dementia in the elderly.  The routines of daily life are full of challenges for him.  

Bill and Doug have formed a deep and abiding bond — a bigger-than-dementia friendship that touches the heart of everyone who sees them together.

“This is such a special relationship,” says Nicki Rehnelt, the housing director.  “Seeing Doug and Bill moving through the day together is just so uplifting.”

It’s not that they do anything out of the ordinary.  Rather, it’s that the very ordinary things they do together take on a special meaning because of Bill’s disease and Doug’s determination to help him have a normal life.

They pull weeds.  They water flowers.  They clean carpets.  Or they just go for a walk.

Doug says when Bill came to live at Ecumen Prairie Hill last April it was just so obvious that Bill want to be doing more — that he was not going to succumb to this disease. 

As if it were meant to be, the friendship just happened.  “I just sort of started helping Bill help himself,” Doug said.  “I knew that he could be doing more.”

Their routine is now well-established.  Most days, they’ll have breakfast together and get to work, side by side.  “If I don’t see Bill, I really miss him,” Doug says.

“Bill just wants to be one of the guys, and there’s only about 10 years difference in our ages,” says Doug.  “We’re able to communicate and just be good friends. Sometimes he’ll have a really bad day, and we’ll talk it through and find the faith side of a bad situation.”

And they find wisdom. Doug says the main thing he has learned though his friendship with Bill is simply this:  “No matter what, live every day to the fullest.”


Annette Garceau

Last Week's Top 5 Blog Posts - August 18

In case you missed out on the latest Changing Aging news, here are the blog posts our online visitors found most interesting last week - including: Dementia Care: It Doesn't Have To Be This Way, How I'm Preparing to Get Alzheimer's, Enjoying Art in Duluth, Oh That Beautiful Doll and more. Click here to read these great stories:

Dr. John Brose on Dementia Care: It Doesn't Have to be this Way

TED Talk Video: How I'm Preparing to Get Alzheimer's

The Pure Enjoyment of Art at Ecumen Lakeshore

Oh, That Beautiful Doll Returns to Ecumen North Branch

Ecumen Century Club: Happy 104th Birthday Grace Zemlin

To read more Changing Aging blog posts or to learn more about Ecumen, please visit www.ecumen.org!

 

 


Anne Diekmann, Director of Nursing, Ecumen of Litchfield

A Handy Guide to Communicating With People Who Have Dementia

Dementia gradually diminishes a person’s ability to communicate properly, requiring patience, understanding and good listening skills. The following infographic offers a few suggestions on how to overcome barriers between you and the person with dementia.

 

 

 

 

Source: Open Placement, a California firm providing seniors, families and care coordinators real-time information and tools so they can find the right senior housing and home care providers. You can find the original blog post here.