Living With Dementia: Residents Share Their Stories (VIDEOS)
Montgomery County Residents talked about the impact of living with dementia during a roundtable conversation on March 12 at the Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg.
Brain Health- The Patient’s Path was a discussion where Asbury residents shared positive results, and how specific strategies can help them maintain a good quality of life.
“Alzheimers does not take away all of your thinking … It’s not the end; it’s just an impairment along the way,” said Bob Sessions, a Asbury resident who has been living with Alzheimers for the past 11 years.
Bob, 88, together his wife Julia, shared what is like for him to live with this disease every day.
“She is solid rock wit me, and she also has a mind of her own. … She sometimes knows when I’m telling the truth and when I’m not. She has just been such a wonderful help to me. … With the help of my wife, I’ve been living well,” he said.
According to the Asbury Methodist Village website, the living community is part an 85-year-old nonprofit organization that manages five continuing care retirement communities in three states. It was founded in 1926 as a Methodist home for the aged and orphaned in Gaithersburg. Today the organization serves more than 3,500 residents and employs 2,200 people.
Catherine Brown, 71, also shared her story. She has been diagnosed with Neurology Pressure hydrocephalus- a rare form of dementia. Brown said there were times she was “pretty disabled.”
During the conversation, doctors, nurses, and Asbury Methodist Village staff talked about the difference between the normal signs of aging and signs of dementia.
According to them, not being able to recall details of a recent event, not recognizing or knowing the names of family members, or frequent pauses and substitution when searching for words could be signs of something that needs to be evaluated by a physician.
Doctors also agreed that staying active, keeping an active mind, having a social engagement are all strategies to keep your brain healthy.
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