I’m fairly certain my therapist and most people who work with folks who have memory and cognitive issues will balk at this post; nevertheless I’m going to write it anyway. Part of my morning practice is to read from a selection of books of inspirational short essays or thought-provoking poetry—many of which I’ve read through…
MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment)
On this blog, I share my story of coping with an MCI diagnosis, how it has affected my lifestyle and the tools I've learned to preserve or improve my quality of life. Click here to learn what the condition is, and click here for my introduction to MCI.
Planning ahead for staying sexually active
As I’ve mentioned in past posts, Keith and I are fortunate to be associated with The Program in Human Sexuality at the University of Minnesota. Click here for an overview of the program and a video of Keith’s and my participation in a panel presentation to university medical students. This program has been of great…
A great suggestion for remembering
I have been very fortunate to maintain close friendships with seven of my friends from college—even now, more than fifty years after we graduated. We haven’t always lived near each other, but we’ve managed to stay in touch. Initially that took the form of a chain letter, which took months to travel across the country…
The memory of intimate touch
This is a rare instance of a post that is published in both categories of my blog—Intimacy & Aging, and MCI. While it was originally written toward people dealing with memory and cognitive loss, I feel it is relevant to many readers interested in intimacy and aging as well. On my website under the section…
Audio recording: Listen to my keynote about living with MCI
In April of this year, my hometown of Winona, Minnesota, hosted a Dementia Friendly Community week at our local senior center, to educate local citizens and organizations about memory and how to help those living with dementia feel safe and supported. I was invited to give the keynote presentation about my own experience with MCI….
Hardened memory
A couple of months after I received my diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment I asked my psychiatrist, “Why can I still write?” At that stage of my memory and cognitive experience, my focus was almost entirely on loss and decline. Every day I experienced another glitch or misfire in my thinking, behavior, or skill level…
Learning to admit “I need help”
In my March 2018 post, A new chink in my armor, I wrote about my temporary hesitancy to tell Keith of my inability to remember my daughter’s last name—a significant gap, as my daughter has been married for more than 25 years. Here is a portion of that essay: “Should I tell Keith? I silently…
I’m not sorry
Last Tuesday was a busy day. I had an early morning hospice meeting, my weekly yoga session followed by lunch with my daughter, a doctor’s appointment and in the evening, my monthly Women’s Circle. Because I’ve given up driving, Keith was my chauffeur to each of these activities. Additionally, the day before I asked him…
The benefits of seeing a therapist
For nearly two years, I’ve had a recurring monthly appointment with a therapist. His name is Randy, and he’s a psychologist who worked at Mayo Clinic for thirty years before opening a private practice. I began seeing him six months after my diagnosis. I haven’t ever actually looked forward to these sessions…but I always keep…
I went public! Sharing my MCI diagnosis with my community
Our community is launching a program to make our town a Dementia Friendly Community, which includes helping community members learn about the various forms and severity of memory issues, recognize common behaviors and needs of people with memory issues, suggest useful ways to interact with people who have memory issues, and identify measures the city…