About Love Stories: Keeping Romance Alive in Dementia Care

Caring for a spouse with Alzheimer’s or other dementia carries with it a lot of changes and uncharted territory. At the heart of these changes may be the very foundation of what makes you a couple: romance. New roles, a new lifestyle, and sometimes new living arrangements can take their toll on even the closest of couples.

On Wednesday, February 9th, 2022, AlzAuthors Live! presented Love Stories: Keeping Romance Alive in Dementia Care., a virtual Q&A. This one-hour program featured four of our authors sharing their personal stories of staying connected with their spouse in a variety of care situations. This is the audio replay of that event. You may also watch it on YouTube.

Meet Our Authors

Richard Creighton: Blogger at Living With Alzheimer’s, and an AlzAuthors Associate, caring for his wife, Kate, at home with Alzheimer’s

Anthony Copeland-Parker: Author of Running All over the World, Our Race Against Early Onset Alzheimer’s, traveling the world and running marathons with his wife, Cat, after she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s

Gincy Heins: Author of Before the Diagnosis: Stories of Life and Love Before Dementia, co-author of 365 Caregiving Tips: Practical Tips from Everyday Caregivers, and an assistant manager at AlzAuthors, caring for her husband, Steve, at home with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Sue Ryan: Author of Our Journey of Love, 5 Steps to Navigate Your Caregiving Journey, caring for her husband, Jack, in memory care

Areas of discussion included:

Seeing your partner (and yourself) in a new light

Maintaining spousal roles

Continuing a partnership

Maintaining equality

Dealing with a forever altered romantic relationship

Nurturing intimacy

Handling loss

Battling loneliness

Dealing with behavior changes

Managing guilt

Coping with grief

Moving to memory care

You will come away with fresh insights and ideas for your own dementia journey.

What participants said:

• I’m impressed with the positive attitude of the caregivers and the strategies they employ.
• I love how each couple has kept up their own ways of socializing or managing. It goes to show how unique each relationship is.
• This has been so rich and wonderful. I am grateful to all the presenters.
• All of the panelists are so inspiring! I'm so grateful to hear their stories.
• I love the way our panelists are so supportive of one another.
• You are all remarkable, and a great inspiration.
• Thank you for sharing so many honest thoughts.

Remember:  You are not alone. 💜

About the Podcast

AlzAuthors is the global community of authors writing about Alzheimer’s and dementia from personal experience to light the way for others. Our podcast introduces you to our authors who share their stories and insights to provide knowledge, comfort, and support. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you, please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends on their own dementia journeys.

We are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more. Our ongoing work supports our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please donate here.

Ideas and opinions expressed in this podcast belong to the speakers and not AlzAuthors. Always consult your healthcare provider and legal and financial consultants for advice on any of the topics covered here.

Thanks for listening.

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