When a family member questioned whether memory care activities could truly preserve cognition, calling it a "degenerative disease" that "rarely slows down," host Dawn Platt knew she had to set the record straight. In this eye-opening episode, Dawn teams up with Maggie Mariello, National Assistant Director of Memory Care Programs with over 20 years of experience, to reveal the shocking difference between communities that simply house residents and those that ignite their minds daily. From the veteran who tends gardens using his landscape architecture expertise to the Juilliard graduate who regains speech through piano, you'll discover how the right programming doesn't just fill time—it preserves the person inside the disease. If you're choosing between assisted living and memory care for your loved one, this episode could completely transform your decision and give you hope you didn't know was possible.