Blog

Knowledge. Resilience. Empowerment.

Black Brains Matter

Imagine how we would treat our brains if we knew that one day, we would lose all of our precious memories. Growing up, I never understood the true definition of Alzheimer’s disease. As I’ve shared in previous blogs, I had my first encounter with it at the tender age of 6 years old. I watched…
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Wanderlust & Itchy Feet: 5 Tips to Consider for Wandering

“She decided to wander outside of the home into the woods, due to her confusion and dementia diagnosis.” Sounds scary right? Because it is! Caregivers, please do not take this lightly. Statistically speaking, 6/10 individuals with a dementia diagnosis will wander at some point (Alz.org). As the disease progresses, it becomes extremely difficult for your…
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Through the Lens of a Social Worker: Self Care

I can recall back to my graduate school days at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, listening to our professors drill in our young minds the value of self care. They were right. We all talk about IT. We all think we do IT. But the reality is, practicing self care can be easier…
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..It All Makes Sense

I’ll never forget the day when I traveled with my family to visit my grandparents in Youngstown, Ohio. (This isn’t your typical “to grandmother’s house we go” type of story.) As we arrived, my brother and I busied ourselves in the living room playing, watching TV – the usual. It didn’t take much time, until…
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The A Word: Alzheimer’s Disease Myth Buster

Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia. Old Age. One in the same? What’s the difference? I always enjoy chatting with folks and hearing their thoughts about the differences or similarities of these terms. What I hope to do is BUST some of these myths about the disease, because let’s be honest, we’ve all made assumptions: Alzheimer’s disease and…
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Stories From My Hands: Laughing Through Your Pain

Throughout my writing, I want to share my hands on experiences when working in a Long Term Care (LTC) community. Working within this type of environment I have gained knowledge from the residents, family members, and staff. [Disclosure, I will never share stories with identifying information, for confidentiality purposes—social worker code of ethics!] So if…
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Dementia, from a Millennial’s Perspective

Baby Boomers. GenXers. Millennials. What generation do you fall into? I am a millennial. I have always felt as though I have an “old soul,” so to be working in the field of aging, is no surprise. But to be a millennial working in this field is rare. To be a Black Millennial in the…
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