Dee felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. With her mother-in-law recovering from another fall and her own mother undergoing chemotherapy treatment, she barely had time to take care of herself. She felt responsible for both women’s safety and well being, putting their needs ahead of her own on most days.

During a visit to the Senior Centre Dee learned about the care giver’s class and signed up. She knew it would be hard to juggle the extra time commitment but also felt it was a worthwhile investment in her own life. The class leaders and others in the class who were in a similar situation understood Dee’s challenges. Just knowing she wasn’t alone was a great comfort.

The tools Dee learned from the class have allowed her to find new balance in her life. She learned how to deal with stress; how to communicate in difficult situations; how to ask other family members to help; how to handle her own emotions; and about community resources that can help ease the burden of care. All of the techniques helped her to take better care of herself, so she could give the two women she loved the best care possible. The Dale not only helped make Dee’s life better, but also helped improve the quality of her mother’s life and her mother-in-law’s life.

Isabel’s husband was diagnosed in 2006 with Dementia and mild to moderate Alzheimer’s. This diagnosis helped to explain the many changes she noticed in him, the new and odd behaviors that began to appear.  Like when her husband began having trouble handling money, something that affected their family deeply. Once she observed him riding the lawnmower for an hour and a half over and over the same spot.  That and other changes left Isabel feeling emotionally drained and worried. 

She joined our Caregiver Support Group, where she is learning to accept the new normal that is her life. She gets peer feedback that’s she really is doing a good job as a wife. She’s learning how to handle unpredictable situations. From the support group she’s learned that we often have no control over things that happen to the people we love – but that we can control how we react.  Carving out that time for herself is important to Isabel’s own health – and she makes the support group a priority in her life.

When Clarence broke his back on the job, his wife Nora took care of him while he healed. When Nora had her stroke and lost her memory, Clarence took care of her. Unfortunately, Nora won’t recover her memory and most days Clarence is a stranger to her.

Despite that, Clarence helps Nora bathe, dress, and function in their home of fifty-two years together. He sorts her medications, shops, cooks, and cleans. He drives her to doctor’s appointments where he is her advocate, lovingly styles her hair and supplies her with new jigsaw puzzles to complete.

The Dale Association’s Transitions of Care Coach helps Clarence anticipate the next care hurdle and be most effective with Nora’s doctors and prescriptions. Clarence knows he won’t be able to care for Nora in their home forever, and his Transition Coach is helping him research suitable long term care facilities. “I no longer feel alone in this journey, I know I have help from the Dale. My Coach has done all the homework for me so that I can just focus on my wife.”

Imagine not remembering last Thanksgiving or Christmas. What if you forgot your own grandchildren? In fact the entire last quarter of 2007 is a loss for Shari, who had a brain aneurysm burst in October. Her family wasn’t sure they would ever get Shari back. After spending months in intensive care and then in a nursing home, Shari was finally able to come home.

As part of her memory redevelopment plan, Shari has been attending “Memory Minders”, an early memory loss program of The Dale Association. There, Shari and the rest of the participants reminisce, sing, do art and puzzles, talk about current events, and enjoy group and individual activities. Shari really likes her time at Memory Minders, and she feels comfortable expressing herself there, where others are experiencing similar difficulties. The whole family has seen improvement in Shari’s recall, and she is feeling more connected to her family. The best part is that Shari now remembers her grandkids. It’s been a very hard situation on everyone in the family – and not something anyone ever expects to have happen to a loved one. But, fortunately The Dale Association is there during good times and bad times, to help make things better.

Viola’s adult son and daughter-in-law were so excited to be traveling to Florida for the winter. They rented a lovely condo right on the golf course, and planned to take it easy until May. The only worry they had, was for Viola, who at her advance age and physical limitations had opted to stay home in Newfane.

Viola’s son arranged for a Dale Association C.A.R.E. volunteer to call his mom each day while they were traveling to check in on her and make sure she was okay. Viola looks so forward to her daily call from Katie, the C.A.R.E. volunteer, who ensures Viola is eating, taking her medications, and enjoying her day to day. Katie looks forward to it too, and together they laugh, share recipes and talk about their mutual interest in gardening. Viola’s son and daughter-in-law feel so reassured that someone locally who cares, is checking in with Mom each day.