Snapshot of the AlzAuthors presentation

Now, this might not be the most flattering of screenshots and it's a quirk of technology that Wendy Mitchell appears twice but let's not be concerned with these technicalities. What the screenshot does do is to provide a pictorial snapshot into last week's LIVE presentation, organised by AlzAuthors.

Expertly and sensitively facilitated by Marianne and Chrissy, the panellists (Wendy Mitchell, Peter Berry, Jennifer Bute, Gerda Saunders and Michael Ellonbogan) were able to share quite personal details of how their lives had changed since the last podcast, how (or if) they had to adapt and how they were all still driven by a desire to do and to achieve. There was a gritty realism to some of what was said but there was also a lot of humour and fun which made it compelling listening.

There were two recurrent and shared themes: one, trying to see the glass as 'half full' and, two, to focus on what you can do, rather than to stress about what you couldn't do. Each panellist agreed that continuing to do ‘their thing’ (so in Wendy’s case, her photography, in Peter’s case, his cycling, in Jennifer's case finding more 'glorious opportunities' in her life) was essential to maintaining emotional well-being.

I recommend that, when the podcast is available to listen on catch up, you try to do hear it. After all, who better to ask about what it’s like to live with dementia than those living with it and proving that it is still possible to live well and to defy medical prognoses?

Thanks to all those at AlzAuthors for their hard work in coordinating this event.