This post is a draft from 2021, This post is for you Janet Douglas.
This morning much too my delight, I received a video call from a friend who also lives with dementia, she is in Scotland to visit her mother. Now a little history, her and I have never met in person, yet we have a connection, a friendship that is the type of friendship that warrants a video call even though she’s on the other side of the world on holidays at the moment.
During our conversation today she told me one of the reasons she had to call was because she wanted to thank me, for reaching out and answering her when she was first diagnosed and looking for support. It was through that that she became a member of DAI, it was through that that the friendship blossomed. DAI is often the gateway to connecting people. It affords us the opportunity to meet others who share our journey. It gives us that safe place to share to laugh to cry,. To rediscover who we are after being devastated by receiving a diagnosis. The people we meet, the webinars the cafes, the support groups, they all help us learn to live, to really live, despite our illness. You can attend many groups, work with many organizations, and they all offer certain things, we can gain something from many of them. I have watched as many who came to DAI struggling through the devastation of being diagnosed, feeling lost, alone, their confidence and self worth bottomed out. I have watched those same people flourish and bloom, to go on to do many great things, not only for and as part of DAI, but also to start, or take active roles in other organizations, they have found themselves, reinvented themselves, regained the confidence they had lost and they are doing an incredible things that end up helping others.
And that was what the video call this morning was about, a call to say thank you for reaching out, because while in Scotland it offered her the opportunity to be that for someone else, and so felt compelled to say thank you. I was so moved by that call, we discussed how important those connections we make are, how important and intricate they are to our journey to find our wellness, to our continued well being. We form connections, we find friendships, even with people we haven’t met.
We so often talk about all the things we can do to help us in our bid to live our best lives with dementia, we talk about, rehabilitation, nutrition, exercise, sleep, being mindful. But I believe the often overlooked piece is connections, connections with others.
I am grateful for the friendships and connections DAI has brought to my life, I continue to reach out to others, and have been so grateful to hear on several occasions in the last few weeks from some thanking me and I always hope that they do can offer that someday to someone. Together the impact we have on each other, for each other, priceless. She thanked me for the gift I had bestowed on her which allowed her to be that person for someone else, the connections are truly a gift.
So for Dementia Awareness Month, I challenge you all to think about the friendships and friendships you’ve made, and reach out and offer it up to others, encourage them to join DAI, so they to can go on and be instrumental in all the good that’s being done out there, through DAI and the many grassroots and local groups, and many organizations that are striving to improve the lives of those living with Dementia.
Christine Thelker
Chrissy's Journey 