Dementia Resilience with Jill Lorentz

September 27, 2022

This is a very hard show today because I am meeting so many people who do not like the person they are supposed to be caring for on a daily basis. When there is baggage, hard feelings, there is the potential for abuse, neglect and more trouble. I see adult kids who never felt loved, I see couples who have fallen out of love and have zero patience. I meet people who are yelling and screaming at their care givers. Think long and hard before you say you will be their power of attorney. Care giving is so hard and don’t take it on if you are filled with anger. This show is for you!

September 20, 2022

When a person is in the very early stages of Alzheimer’s, we start noticing the issues they are having with keeping up with demands of a job. Is the boss noticing? Are you forgetting tasks? Are you forgetting meetings? Have you been put on a performance plan? If you stay at your job, can they adjust your daily tasks so you can stay? If you leave, how quickly must you apply for social security disability? Did you know that you can only receive the amount of money from your past job, until you move on to another. Once you get another job, if it is lower paying, you will only get the money and benefits based on your most recent job. That is huge if you made big money or salary on the job you had for years. I will line all this out for you and talk about driving issues in the early stage as well. Driving is a privilege, not a right, but either way, it’s a loss if independence. How will you deal with this, kicking and screaming or with dignity and intelligence? It’s up to you. Or is it?

September 13, 2022

Trying to care for someone in their last weeks, months is hard. Not just hard but emotionally taxing. We never understand the amount of work, the scope of care, the diligence that it takes to turn someone, so they don’t get pressure sores. Late stage is difficult. It is not about thinking family caregivers aren’t up for the task, but more about, are you underestimating the amount of work it will take? I am going to lay out what is ahead if you are on this path.

September 6, 2022

My person will not talk at all about their diagnosis, is something I hear about often from clients. My person fights with me all the time. I am afraid to begin to bring up the subject of the dementia because my wife comes unglued. Talking to your person with a diagnosis will help them to be a part of the plan of their care. if you wait too long, the situation becomes a battlefield. Let me talk you through this troublesome subject!

August 30, 2022

Understand how the brain works and then you may be able to understand more effectively why people with dementia diseases behave the way they do. I will break this down for you in new ways to help you comprehend it more easily.

August 23,2022

Klaralee Charlton joins me again today and we cover questions from listeners about legal issues you need help with. We talk about neglect, trusts, power of attorney documents, and when you have trouble getting doctors and banks to accept them. We go through so much information, and you will really want to listen to this conversation!

Klaralee Charlton, J.D., LL.M.

Attorney | Estate Administration & Tax Division

Katz, Look & Onorato, P.C.

1120 Lincoln Street, #1100

Denver, Colorado 80203

(303) 832-1900

[email protected]

Licensed in Colorado and Montana

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August 16, 2022

I am taking a different approach to the early diagnosis process today and walking you through what will happen at the doctor’s office. What are they looking for in terms of impairment and memory loss? What tests will they perform? What is ruled out and was is still in play? What is a neurobehavioral exam? I will discuss all this and more. If you know someone struggling and still is not diagnosed, this show is for you!

August 8, 2022

This show is dedicated to the helping you through the grieving process at the end of life. How do we navigate the journey when things get rough? This is not how to work the actual process; this is about letting go of expectations and getting help to be prepared for the end. Let go of the guilt, say what you need to say.

August 2, 2022

Last week I attended the Pioneer Conference in Denver Colorado and was enlightened by most of the speakers and subjects I listened to. One of my highlights was interviewing Vicki de Klerk – Rubin, the daughter of Validation theory architect Naomi Feil. It was an interesting and riveting conversation! I have used some of their methods with my clients. Some methods we approach differently, but as a whole I admire their work! Together the two have written and edited three books. Here’s a little more on them:

Vicki de Klerk-Rubin oversees organizational operations and is a Validation Master. Together with her mother, Naomi Feil, she revised the books, Validation: The Feil Method and The Validation Breakthrough. She authored Validation Techniques for Dementia Care: The Family Guide to Improving Communication and a new workbook: Communicate with older adults with cognitive decline: Validation for First Responders. She has a BFA from Boston University, an MBA from Fordham University, and did her nursing degree at Higher Technical School of Amsterdam.  

July 19, 2022

When you have a person who is denying their stage of dementia, or you are a family member who thinks your person is not as bad off as some others, or you are hesitating to move them or care for them when things are bad, this show is for you. I discuss all of this in detail today. Also, a big, beautiful community may not be all it is cracked up to be. Sometimes the older more experienced places may provide better care. Don’t be fooled!