My Spouse Has Dementia

Jan 18 2025 24 ep. 23 mins 10

My Spouse Has Dementia Podcast artwork

A free, bi-weekly podcast that uses personal stories, occasional interviews, and simple rituals to support dementia caregiving spouses

Society & Culture

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How Did I Survive? Truth, Strength, and Walter Cronkite

Jan 18 2025 26 mins

I grew up listening to Walter Cronkite. He signed off each nightly newscast with “And that’s the way it is.” As a kid, I was often alarmed by the news. But I reasoned that if Walter Cronkite respected me enough to tell me the truth, then I could handle it. Yes, my reasoning was flawed. Mr. Cronkite didn’t know me. In this episode, I share deeply personal stories from my ch

The Caregiver You Love Needs Help!

Jan 01 2025 14 mins

This episode is a message for the caregiver to send to someone else, someone who doesn't know, or doesn't understand, the stress the caregiver is going through. I liken that stress to driving alone, in an old car, up a steep mountain on a narrow, twisting road with no place to pull off. There are no guardrails. The caregiver's spouse is at the top of that mountain, dying. I creat

Tall Ships and Facing Death - Victoria Burdick, Hospice Chaplain, Ret.

Oct 30 2024 28 mins

"Between now and dead, you've got a purpose. Don't be timid." Before she retired as a hospice chaplain, Reverend Victoria Burdick faced her own death several times. In her 30s while in divinity school, she wrote a series of essays she called "Lunch with Heron." In one of those essays, "The Tall Ships," she recounts the breast cancer diagnosis that led her to the Festival of the Tal

Anticipatory Healing - What Family Dementia Caregivers Need to Know to Survive

Jul 19 2024 30 mins

You've probably heard of anticipatory grief. Unbidden, hidden, and immediate, it comes with the diagnosis that your loved one has Alzheimer's. Depending on when the diagnosis was delivered, it can be several years or more before your loved one dies. Something in addition to anticipatory grief can also happen along the way, especially in those devastating late years of the disease.

Wandering and the Bring Me Back Home Program

Jan 03 2024 22 mins

For a person with Alzheimer's or other form of dementia, wandering can be dangerous. If that person isn't found within 24 hours, the chances that he or she will suffer serious injury, even death, increase dramatically. The family dementia caregiver will likely experience serious stress until the loved one is found. According to the Alzheimer's Association 6 in 10 people with demen

The Dilemma of Dementia and Driving: Taking away the keys?

Nov 18 2023 18 mins

Your spouse has Alzheimer's. You know he - or she - shouldn't be driving. When you bring up the subject, you hear some version of, "That's ridiculous! I know how to drive a car." He might be right. He might still know how to drive a car. The problem is that he shouldn't be driving a car. No, this isn't a simple matter of semantics. Your spouse may still have the muscle memory to

"I Didn't See It Coming" - Interview with LBD caregiver Mary Lou Falcone

Nov 04 2023 30 mins

Mary Lou Falcone became a caregiver when her father had a massive stroke. She was 10 years old. The experience prepared her for the day, many years later, when her husband, illustrator and 1950s rocker Nicky Zann, was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD). In her memoir, I Didn't See It Coming: Scenes of Love, Loss, and Lewy Body Dementia, Falcone talks about what it was like to

Illusive Dreams and Frustrating Dementia Care Ads

Oct 03 2023 27 mins

Sometimes, the dreams we carry inspire us. Then life changes, especially if your spouse has dementia. Now, those same dreams weigh us down… and we have to let go. Advertisements for some memory care facilities and some dementia service agencies don’t help. I find those ads insulting. You’ve read the message in blogs and brochures. Depending on where you and your spouse are

My Caregiver Friend Died First

Aug 14 2023 21 mins

This is a cautionary tale about a dear friend, a family caregiver who died first. She was in her mid-70s, a few weeks younger than I am. In mid-April, she had a stroke. She died mid-July, just as I faced the one-year milestone of my husband's death from Alzheimer's. Her death emphasized the reality of caregiver stress and the importance of caregiver support. You may not have time

Why Join a Support Group? To Survive!

Jun 15 2023 30 mins