July 28, 2025
Dear Dementia,
I have been thinking about my comments on fear yesterday and as I reflect back on the actions of some of my family members in reaction to my grandmother, I pray that some of the things said and done were out of fear, and not anger and contempt.
I, like so many others, have those moments that haunt me. One moment is during a visit with my grandmother when my aunt and uncle cornered my grandmother in her own kitchen because she didn’t take her medication that morning. The sadness that surrounds that moment for me is something I think about often. A basic understanding of dementia and a bit of compassion would have prevented this moment.
This drives my desire to work with family. I can’t prevent these types of moments from occurring, however, if I can prevent only a handful of these moments of anger, fear, and pain, then I consider my efforts successful. So many of these moments are driven by fear rooted in love. We don’t want to see our loved ones in pain. Nor do we want to see unnecessary suffering. You can’t help but weave yourself into unnecessary suffering, and that can cause us to do things we might regret or fear. I pray and work for a world that is always reminded of their love for another so that anger can never drive moments of pain.
Until tomorrow,
Kate
