In memoriam: Wendy Mitchell, my fellow dementer and zoom-panel buddy, died on Feb 22nd after voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED)
GERDA SAUNDERS
by Gerda Saunders
1w ago
Featured image: Wendy Mitchell (then 63) skydiving. Daily Mail. Wendy Mitchell was a force of nature. She was my role model of how to live fully and with joy even when dementia hamstrings your every action every day. After her death on Feb 22nd 2024 from voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED), Wendy’s daughters Sarah […] The post In memoriam: Wendy Mitchell, my fellow dementer and zoom-panel buddy, died on Feb 22nd after voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED) first appeared on MY LIFE WITH DEMENTIA ..read more
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Can Doña Quixote still cross the road? Only when Peter helps her plot an exit from the Escher stairs in her head
GERDA SAUNDERS
by Gerda Saunders
2M ago
Featured image, adapted by Peter from two Escher artworks: 1), Relativity (1953), M. C. Escher’s classic lithograph that presents the visual imagery of a world where the laws of gravity have ceased to exist. 2), Hen with Egg, M.C. Escher (1917) So far in 2024, Doña Quixote has lost two major material things: 1), her […] The post Can Doña Quixote still cross the road? Only when Peter helps her plot an exit from the Escher stairs in her head first appeared on MY LIFE WITH DEMENTIA. The post Can Doña Quixote still cross the road? Only when Peter helps her plot an exit from the Escher stairs in h ..read more
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A snowball’s chance in hell? or How a (19-year-old) old soul “plays with and is fed by” a horrific accident
GERDA SAUNDERS
by Gerda Saunders
3M ago
Featured image: Adoration of the Magi by  Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337). The Star of Bethlehem is shown as a comet above the christ child. Giotto witnessed an appearance of Halley’s Comet in 1301. Halley is visible from Earth every 74.7 years, or, more simply, every 75-79 years. Halley would orbit another 9 times—between Earth and […] The post A snowball’s chance in hell? or How a (19-year-old) old soul “plays with and is fed by” a horrific accident first appeared on MY LIFE WITH DEMENTIA. The post A snowball’s chance in hell? or How a (19-year-old) old soul “plays with and is fed by” a ..read more
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My Knight in Shining Armor read “Letter to Gerda” at AlzAuthor-Kensington zoom dementia discussion yesterday
GERDA SAUNDERS
by Gerda Saunders
4M ago
Featured image: Joseph Christian Leyendecker (American, 1874-1951). Lune de miel (Honeymoon), The Saturday Evening Post cover, July 17, 1926. Peter sent me this remarkable letter the day before Thanksgiving after I had a bad patch of dementia trouble for a while. Peter, you are my Rock, my husband, my lover, my Love, without whom I […] The post My Knight in Shining Armor read “Letter to Gerda” at AlzAuthor-Kensington zoom dementia discussion yesterday first appeared on MY LIFE WITH DEMENTIA. The post My Knight in Shining Armor read “Letter to Gerda” at AlzAuthor-Kensington zoom dementia discu ..read more
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Updated link for Zoom talk with 2 dementers and 2 caregivers Wed Nov 29, 6 pm EST; 4 pm MT (Utah), 3 pm PST
GERDA SAUNDERS
by Gerda Saunders
4M ago
Featured image: Thanks so much Peter for superimposing the photos of the discussion participants over Canadian Indigenous painter Norval Morrisseau‘s Androgyny (1983). Neuropsycholologists longitudinally studied the work of artists who would later suffer from cognitive decline, including that of Morrisseau ,who developed Parkinson’s disease. They found changes artists’ “fractals,” ie, the unique and repeated patterns […] The post Updated link for Zoom talk with 2 dementers and 2 caregivers Wed Nov 29, 6 pm EST; 4 pm MT (Utah), 3 pm PST first appeared on MY LIFE WITH DEMENTIA. The post Updated ..read more
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Wed Nov 29 Zoom discussion: Marianne Sciuccio (dementia caregiver), former neurologist Daniel Gibbs (has dementia); Jane Dwinnell (caregiver); and Gerda (dementer)
GERDA SAUNDERS
by Gerda Saunders
4M ago
Featured image: Thanks so much, Peter, for superimposing the panelists’ photos on the brain image from Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Susan Magsamen, Ivy Ross, et al. WHAT: Kensington Holiday Caregiver Book Club: Wisdom & Insight from Authors Living with Dementia: AlzAuthors is partnering with Kensington Senior Living for a […] The post Wed Nov 29 Zoom discussion: Marianne Sciuccio (dementia caregiver), former neurologist Daniel Gibbs (has dementia); Jane Dwinnell (caregiver); and Gerda (dementer) first appeared on MY LIFE WITH DEMENTIA. The post Wed Nov 29 Zoom discussio ..read more
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Time, love, and the body: “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower,/ Drives my green age”
GERDA SAUNDERS
by Gerda Saunders
5M ago
Title: Opening lines of Dylan Thomas’s 1933 poem “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower” Featured image: This shot of a Glistening-Green Tanager (Chlorochrysa phoenicotis) poised between two leaves on Ecuador’s Mashpi Amagusa Reserve, taken by Nicolas Reusens, was named Best Portrait at the 2023 Bird Photographer of the Year awards. There’s […] The post Time, love, and the body: “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower,/ Drives my green age” first appeared on MY LIFE WITH DEMENTIA. The post Time, love, and the body: “The force that through the green fuse driv ..read more
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You ask, Gerda & 4 dementia buddies tell “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Living with Dementia”
GERDA SAUNDERS
by Gerda Saunders
7M ago
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, in June, 2021, AlzAuthors hosted five of  us who are currently living with dementia to a virtual discussion where we shared our stories. That is where I first had “live” communication with my dementia buddies Peter Berry, Jennifer Bute, and Wendy Mitchell from the UK and Michael […] The post You ask, Gerda & 4 dementia buddies tell “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Living with Dementia” first appeared on MY LIFE WITH DEMENTIA. The post You ask, Gerda & 4 dementia buddies tell “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Living wit ..read more
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Failing toward the moon: as Doña Quixote tumbles toward the dark side, Gerda attempts a course correction
GERDA SAUNDERS
by Gerda Saunders
7M ago
Featured image: Still from a 1902 French short film titled A Trip to the Moon ( Le Voyage dans la Lune) directed by Georges Méliès. Inspired by sources, including Jules Verne’s “moon” novels the film follows a group of astronomers who travel to the Moon in a cannon-propelled capsule, explore the Moon’s surface, escape from […] The post Failing toward the moon: as Doña Quixote tumbles toward the dark side, Gerda attempts a course correction first appeared on MY LIFE WITH DEMENTIA. The post Failing toward the moon: as Doña Quixote tumbles toward the dark side, Gerda attempts a course correction ..read more
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“I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my eyes and all is born again.”
GERDA SAUNDERS
by Gerda Saunders
8M ago
Title quote: Sylvia Plath in The Bell Jar, a novel in which the protagonist descends into mental illness. Featured image: One of photographer Tony Luciani’s countless photos of his mother who had dementia. He had been a full-time, professional fine artist since post-graduate studies in Florence, Italy in 1978. He also later also took up […] The post “I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my eyes and all is born again.” first appeared on MY LIFE WITH DEMENTIA. The post “I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my eyes and all is born again.” appeared first on MY LIFE W ..read more
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