- With Mayo Clinic health education outreach coordinator
Angela Lunde
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Angela Lunde
Angela Lunde is a dementia education specialist in the education core of Mayo Clinic's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the Abigail Van Buren Alzheimer's Disease Research Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Angela Lunde
The transfer of information about dementias, as well as understanding the need for participation in clinical trials, is an essential component of the education core.
Angela is a member of the Alzheimer's Association board of directors and co-chair of the annual Minnesota Dementia Conference. She is a member of the Dementia Behavior Assessment and Response Team (D-BART), a multidisciplinary outreach service assisting professional and family caregivers in understanding and managing difficult behaviors often present in dementia. She facilitates several support groups, including Memory Club, an early-stage education and support series, and more recently, helped to develop and now deliver Healthy Action to Benefit Independence and Thinking (HABIT), a 10-day cognitive rehab and wellness program for people with mild cognitive impairment.
Angela takes a personal interest in understanding the complex changes that take place within relationships and among families when dementia is present. She is particularly interested in providing innovative and accessible ways for people with dementia and their families to receive information and participate in valuable programs that promote well-being.
"Amid a devastating disease, there are tools, therapies, programs and ways to cope, and it is vital that families are connected to these resources," she says.
Latest entries
- Take the time to find gratitude: You'll be happier, healthier
April 3, 2013
- Gratitude is the one pill everyone should be prescribed
March 19, 2013
- Teamwork unites caregivers, those with dementia
March 6, 2013
- Much work lies ahead to increase research, resources for Alzheimer's caregivers
Feb. 19, 2013
- Conference highlights those with dementia, caregiving and research
Feb. 5, 2013
Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Alzheimer's blog
-
Dec. 24, 2009
A gift you can give to those with Alzheimer's
By Angela Lunde
During the last conversation I had with my grandmother, I asked her how old she was. She replied, "Sixteen".
Accepting that my grandmother had Alzheimer's disease also meant that I accepted the symptoms that accompanied her disease. Her dementia placed her reality back to a time when she was a young woman. I asked her what she liked about being 16 and she replied, "Well, it's wonderful, I am going to my senior dance!"
Our conversation continued with excitement about the dress and shoes she had picked out, her date, and the music she expected they would dance to. I was fully present with my grandmother, living her reality in that moment.
Maybe the effortless capacity for persons with Alzheimer's to live with sheer contentment in the moment and in their reality is a silver lining within the disease. Maybe our capacity to provide unconditional reassurance by living and accepting their truth is the gift we give in return.
Yours in support.
43 comments posted
Share on:
43 comments posted