This is a fictitious recording of Rita Smith, whose husband has demenita (currently in stage 4).
This recording is a small excerpt from a presentation Rita Smith gave to a group of people who have family members with dementia. To hear the passage click on Mrs. Smith’s name below. The passage is also written if you would prefer to read it.
“Hearing that my husband was diagnosed with dementia was the most devastating and terrifying news I’ve ever received. I didn’t know much about dementia, which definitely contributed to my panic. I tried to be calm and strong for my husband and I think that he was trying to do the same for me. When we finally did talk honestly about it we both felt relieved. The best piece of advice that I can give to all of you is to educate yourselves. No matter what the issue, knowledge is the key to coping and to helping your family member cope. There are many changes your loved one will go through over the course of this disease. The memory problems I could deal with, but the personality changes really bothered me. I think the confusion and other difficulties by husband was having were taking a toll on him and he was frustrated for a while. Another thing that I had a hard time dealing with was the communication difficulties. He had trouble remembering words and some people’s names. I could tell that it bothered him that the words weren’t coming to him. I know that there may come a time that he can’t understand me or won’t be able to talk to me (Flaton, 2006), but I can prepare myself for it and when that time comes it will hopefully be easier for me to deal with. I’m sharing all of this with you because educating ourselves was the best thing that we did. This is a terrible disease and something that isn’t easy to go through no matter what you know about it, but just understanding it and preparing ourselves for it has allowed me to better care for him and also gave me time to adjust. I hope that you too will educate yoursleves not only for your loved one but for you as well.”
2 Comments
November 26, 2006 at 9:39 am
1. Whose voice is this piece in? This piece is written in the voice of the spouse.
2. Who is this piece written for? I think that this piece is written for people who have a family member who is suffering from dementia.
3. What do you think the author is saying with this piece? The author is telling the audience how they can help their loved ones and how to cope with what is happening. She is also telling them what has worked for her and her husband.
4. Find something specific in each piece that you can “bless.” You might like the originality of an idea, a particular word used, whatever. I really like the whole piece. I think you have approached this topic from a normal persons point of view and put it in readable terms.
5. Find something specific in each piece that the author should “address.” This is a very hard thing to do because the piece is so good. You may want to add some information so you can reference it.
November 28, 2006 at 10:05 pm
Voice: the wife of the dementia patient
Audience: family memebers of patients recently diagnosed with dementia, or anyone else wanting to learn more about it
Say Back: I think the author is trying to convey the deep emotional impact that dementia can have on a family.
Bless: I like that anyone can understand what you’ve said in this piece, and its not really technical.
Address: Because of the lack of technicality, I think it might be hard to cite some of this, but I think it looks fine. Just a thought