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If you have a loved one living with dementia, be it your spouse, your parent or even a neighbor, we consider you to be living with dementia too. We view dementia as a whole community disease.
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The Retreat at Sunny Vista’s skilled and experienced staff understands the unique needs of those living with memory impairment. Our Rhythms Dementia Philosophy and Program recognize that dementia changes the way a person experiences the world around them, our job is to create environments where each person can navigate the world successfully and create worlds where life is worth living. It can be a daunting task if you are trying to navigate the dementia journey alone. We are here to help with personalized care and services that celebrate your loved one, because we know supportive family and friends are an integral part of the care team.

We’ve all had those awkward moments when we can’t remember a word, or when we spot someone familiar but can’t put a name to the face. As our loved ones age, we may notice this type of thing happening more frequently, and we may worry that it’s more than just age-related memory loss. So, how can you tell the difference between normal aging and dementia?

This is a comprehensive checklist when visiting aging parents to make sure they are still doing well on their own.

Many adult children can’t make it home to see their aging loved ones as often as they would like. The holidays offer an opportunity to visit with parents and grandparents. Are there things that changed since your last visit? 
​These are things you should look for:

It is unbelievably painful to witness a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, or any other type of dementia deteriorating. As the disease becomes more advanced, we see forgetfulness slowly transform into severe decline in memory, language, problem solving, and thinking skills. Eventually our loved one loses their individuality completely.
 
Therefore, understanding how to connect and communicate with our loved ones is so important. Learn about the communication strategies for dementia.

At The Retreat at Sunny Vista, we truly believe that finding a cure for Alzheimer’s is possible. One of our team members, Kristi Breakell, has partnered with the Alzheimer’s Association to help find the cure by sitting on the Alz Fundraising Committee for several years. This year, she has helped raise over $8,000 towards the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Our campus is going to match the donations that she has raised.

Kristi discussed the benefits of living in a community setting where people are specially trained to help though going through the dementia progress. Watch her on Fox21 here: https://www.fox21news.com/community/annual-walk-to-end-alzheimers-saturday/​