August 3, 2016 One of my dementia clients is very, very sad. Alice is 100 years old. She’s not quite five feet tall, and has always been a very active, energetic person. Over the years I’ve been visiting with her, she’s told me repeatedly that she weighed just 2 ½ pounds when she was born, […]
June 8, 2016 This may be disturbing. When I tell you Ted’s story, you might think, ‘Oh, that’s just so sad and tragic, I don’t want to hear about it.’ To which my response is, ‘Get over it.’ Yes, it’s sad and tragic when people lose their memories…or their minds, or their sight, or their […]
April 21, 2016 As I was leaving Beverly, one of my favorite dementia patients, I told her I was going to the beach for my birthday, and wouldn’t be coming next week. Seeing her slight frown, I said, “But I’ll bring you a seashell.” So a few days later I found myself at the shore, […]
March 24, 2016 As I mentioned in my last post, I recently lost two of my favorite Musical Memories clients last week. They were both fun and lovely women who allowed me into their lives during what turned out to be their final days on earth, for which I’ll be forever grateful. If you haven’t […]
March 16, 2016 This has been a tough week. I just lost two very dear friends. (An unexpected side-effect of this job is that people I grow close to die at a frequent, albeit somewhat predictable, rate.) And within a week’s time, Eve and June passed away, so I offer my reflections. Eve was a […]
May 21, 2015 Let me start by saying that I know that some people are going to read this and feel sad, depressed and/or scared. To those people I’ll just say, I’m sorry you don’t see this the way I do. Today I met with one of my favorite dementia patients. Alice is a lovely, […]
February 2, 2015 When I talk about my Musical Memories service where I sing to/with dementia patients, I refer to the sessions as “musical conversations”. Lately I’ve been working with a few people who are definitely more interested in the conversation part. One of the most poignant conversations took place recently at a memory care […]
November 12, 2014 It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything about the amazing and delightful dementia patients I sing with and to. Every time I visit, I come away smiling and humbled. So let me tell you about a few of them. First of all, there is the lovely Alice, who is always alert and […]
June 2, 2014 In the last couple of weeks, I have lost two of the elder gentlemen I sing with. One had been my “client” for about a year. I put “client” in quotes because in fact, this man was so much more than that and became so much more to me. In his day, […]
January 30, 2014 There. I’ve said it. I read – and enjoy – the obituaries every day. I don’t read every single death notice word for word, but I scan them all. I read about people I know or have heard of, of course, but sometimes the obituary of a stranger grabs my attention. Often […]
October 2, 2013 I have a crush on a 98 year old man. I sing one-on-one to and with elders, most of whom have some degree of cognitive impairment or dementia. It’s one of the most fun and rewarding things I’ve ever done, and it’s an absolute joy to get to know people at such […]
April 23, 2013 In my Musical Memories service, I sing in assisted living/nursing facilities and private homes, one-to-one with elders, many of whom have some form of dementia. They are among my favorite people on the planet because they are so real, so pure, and, yes, childlike – but in the highest and most evolved […]