- 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
-
Feb. 22, 2011
Tips for caregivers facing painful decisions
By Angela Lunde
I'm so pleased to read your posts and see how much caring, understanding, and unconditional support penetrates through this online community of friends.
I want to make a quick plug for any of you who can make a trip to St. Paul. Mayo Clinic and the Alzheimer's Association will host a conference called "Meeting of the Minds" on Saturday, March 19.
The conference for families and friends of those with dementia, healthcare professionals, as well as persons with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia is one of the largest in the country.
A link to the brochure and on-line registration can be found in the Resources tab above. If any of you do attend, please introduce yourself to me. What a treat it would be to meet you face to face!
A couple weeks ago, Richard and Dan posted on the blog. They each spoke about the painful decision they recently made to move their wife to a care facility. In their own way, they each wrote about how they've found peace within themselves to not only accept the reality of this progressive disease, but to humbly accept their limitations as a caregiver. As Dan shared, "When it gets too much ... you have to give in to get the best for the affected. Now I will be able to visit, and (truly) enjoy the time."
And then there is Andrea, who is caring for her mom at home. She seems well aware of the sacrifices she's taking on in so many ways. Yet, she continues the journey and finds a small sense of renewal when she and her mom share a laugh — a reminder that there is still a connection.
Similar to the decision to use medications in dementia, the decision to care for someone at home or move them to a care facility is incredibly personal — neither choice fits every situation. For some, there's no choice. But one thing's generally true; caregivers endure painful decisions and feel guilty no matter what.
Whether you're caring for someone at home, or have moved them to a care facility, here are 5 simple messages that may serve you from time to time:
- Learn to separate what you can and can't control — many things are simply out of your hands.
- Do all you can and then let it go.
- Make a decision and don't look back — believe you made the best decision you could at the time.
- Forgive yourself.
- Remember, we feel guilty because we love.
"Care-providing presents us with the challenge of a lifetime, and the hardest task many of us will ever face. But the extraordinary circumstances in which it places us are also opportunities to open up new frontiers in human development and understanding."
— Lela Knox Shanks, author of "Your Name is Hughes Hannibal Shanks — A Caregiver's Guide to Alzheimer's"
52 comments posted
Share on:
52 comments posted