Shows / Dementia Discussions
Dementia Discussions
A monthly podcast about dementia. Join your host, Barbara Hament every 2nd Tuesday of the month, as she interviews medical professionals, caregivers, and various experts on how to better understand and cope with this challenging and complex disease.
Episodes
Dementia DiscussionsCaregivers vs. the healthcare system: An unbelievable story of perseverance and hope
A lot has happened since Ted Snyder was Barbara’s guest on Dementia Discussions last April. Today he tells Barbara how his wife Rena’s condition has progressed…
Dementia DiscussionsRemembering a remarkable woman
Today Barbara welcomes back Owen Frances. Owen lost Rhonda, his precious wife of 52 years, to Alzheimer’s disease last year. In a beautiful, heartfelt, and…
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What Happens Next? Lewy Body Dementia and the confusing stages of decline
In her first podcast of 2022, Barbara is joined by Cheri Dickard whose mother, 82, was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia (LBD) three years ago. Cheri tells…
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Gratitude
Happy Holidays from Dementia Discussions! In Barbara’s last podcast of 2021, she reflects on the past year and why she started Dementia Discussions. She also…
Dementia DiscussionsWhat’s going on?
Today Barbara is joined by Dr. Linda Ercoli, a clinical psychology professor and the director of UCLA’s Longevity Center. Linda has always been fascinated by…
Dementia DiscussionsAdvanced Care Planning: How to get started and why it’s so important
Today Barbara welcomes Stefanie Elkins to the podcast. Stefanie is an aging-life care manager and an end-of-life doula whose company, Be Present Care, supports…
Dementia DiscussionsTaking over tasks for her husband- Step up or step back?
Today Barbara talks with Karen Tucker, who attends her Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) support group at UCLA. Karen takes care of her 71-year-old husband, who was…
Dementia DiscussionsDealing with the Denial of Dementia
Jay Swerdlow joins Barbara to talk about caring for his wife, who is in denial about her dementia diagnosis. They discuss different ways to deal with her…
Dementia DiscussionsCaretaking from a Distance
Amy Bean joins Barbara to tell us about her dad, an accomplished and successful businessman who’d planned for exciting travels during his retirement…
Dementia DiscussionsWhat is Lewy Body Dementia?
It’s been 13 years since Angela Taylor kicked off her journey to understand Lewy Body Dementia (LBD). As a family caregiver for her father when he had a hard…
Dementia DiscussionsAlzheimer’s: The devil we know
Today Barbara is joined by Karen Patterson, who attended Barbara’s “Memory Club” and other memory-care groups with her husband, Bob. Bob was -- literally -- a…
Dementia DiscussionsPhases and transitions of debilitation
Today Barbara talks to Beth Harris about caring for her mother, Gail. Gail was first diagnosed two years ago with a Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), then with…
Dementia DiscussionsMy mother became the daughter I never had
Today Barbara is joined by Carole Lieber-Wilkins whose mother, Fran, has suffered from dementia for the past 12 years. Carole talks about Fran’s illness, which…
Dementia DiscussionsA wife’s crash-course in taking care of her husband
When Suzy Rosenberg’s husband, Paul, was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia at 86, Suzy didn’t know of anyone else with dementia. She joins Barbara to discuss…
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Things can become too much really quickly
Today Barbara talks to Adam, whose 82-year-old father was recently diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. Adam describes his father’s actions leading up to the…
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The Cruelest Disease You’ve Never Heard Of
Today Barbara talks to Anna Ivara, whose son George, age 61, suffers from Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD). Anna explains how FTD hit the language centers in…
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When an Alzheimer’s diagnosis leads to a whole new life
Today Barbara welcomes Dotti McLean. Dotti’s husband, Brian, was an international expert in environmental policy who loved to build furniture, paint, and play…
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Diagnosed at 56: Younger-onset Alzheimer’s
Today Barbara is joined by Bryan Wing whose wife, Patricia, was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease at age 56. Bryan describes Patricia’s…
Dementia DiscussionsCaring for the person who’s always been your mom
Today Barbara welcomes Deb Kurtz, whose mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2018. They discuss how the disease gradually changed Deb’s relationship with…
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Beyond BINGO: Creative Brain Games and Virtual Programs from the Alzheimer’s Association
Today Barbara welcomes Yael Wyte, program director at the Alzheimer’s Association (CA, Southland Chapter). They discuss the association’s mission, and the…
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He was the master of ceremony of our life
Today Barbara is joined by Roz Wolpert. Roz describes her husband Jay -- a talented and successful screenwriter and Hollywood producer -- as deeply feeling and…
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How to build brain health to prevent Alzheimer’s
Today Barbara is joined by Bonnie Waddles, the executive director of Hilarity for Charity (HFC), a non-profit that uses humor to raise awareness among young…
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I don’t know who I’m gonna wake up with
Today Barbara is joined by Bruce Ettinger whose wife, Honey, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and then dementia. With the diagnosis, Bruce says that…
Dementia DiscussionsGrowing up while losing half of you
Now 26, America Garza started noticing something was wrong with her 81-year-old father when she was still in high school. She joins Barbara to talk about the…
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My Dad Doesn’t Remember my Childhood
Today Barbara is joined by Jill Davis,* whose father is battling dementia on the east coast. Jill says at first, the symptoms seemed mild: he was mixing…
Dementia DiscussionsWhen You’re Too Close to Notice
It was Ramona Garza’s daughter who first noticed that George (Ramona’s husband) seemed different. A fastidious engineer, he was ignoring bills and letting…
Dementia DiscussionsIt’s like they regress to childhood
By the time Chris Zenner’s mother was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia in 2020, she had lost her short-term memory, her concept of time, and her ability to…
Dementia DiscussionsA Daughter on the Alzheimer’s Journey
Barbara is joined by Megan Dobkin on the day she learns her father is moving into the memory unit of an assisted living facility. Megan talks about how hard it…
Dementia DiscussionsI was looking for a miracle
Today Barbara is joined by Kenneth Mitchell, whose wife Mary Ann was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013 and Lewi bodies dementia in 2016. Ken recounts…
Dementia DiscussionsI wanted him to be as happy as he could be
Marina Day joins Barbara to talk about her husband, Paul, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 10 years ago. She describes how difficult it was in the beginning…
Dementia DiscussionsThe inequality of power between the caretaker and their loved one
Bill Coleman returns to talk to Barbara more about caring for his wife, Deborah, who was diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy eight years ago. Deborah was…
Dementia DiscussionsGet a dog!
In her first episode with both spouses, today Barbara is joined by Bill and Deborah Coleman. Eight years ago, Deborah was diagnosed with a rare form of…
Dementia DiscussionsYou’re Not Alone
Today Barbara is joined by social worker and co-facilitator of her Alzheimer’s support group, Monica Moore. Monica is the community health program manager for…
Dementia DiscussionsIt’s been an adjustment for all of us
When Linda’s mother Grace was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia (LBD) in 2019, Linda felt sadness and relief at the same time. (LBD is a degenerative condition…
Dementia DiscussionsThat’s why I’m here!
UCLA science professor Harvey Hershman talks to Barbara about the biggest challenges he’s faced as a caretaker. It was in 2010 when Betty, his talented and…
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Letting Go of Him Little by Little
Bette Wilkes talks to Barbara about her late father-in-law, David Wilkes, who died in 2016. She describes how painful it was to watch a brilliant and proud man…
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Take the journey the way the journey takes you
After years of healthy meals and daily exercise, it was a surprise when Rhonda was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Her adoring husband, Owen, tells the…
Dementia DiscussionsMy Mother's Been Through a Lot and Now She Has Dementia
This week Barbara talks to NYU professor and filmmaker Linda Mills, whose mother was diagnosed with early onset dementia in 2011. Linda describes her mother’s…
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It's the little things
Winston Greene first noticed his wife Pansy was forgetting things and repeating herself in 2010. As the disease progressed, he progressed along with it, taking…
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How Opica Adult Care Care Continues to Support it's Members
This week, Barbara is joined by Sara Kaye, Director of Family Services at OPICA. The first Adult Day Program and Counseling Center in Los Angeles, OPICA…
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Tips & Life Lessons from an “Un-natural” Caregiver
It’s been a rough five years for Snuffy Walden, whose wife Debby was first diagnosed with cognitive problems in 2016. Snuffy says he’s not a natural caretaker…
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Barbara talks to Susan Howland, Program Director of the Alzheimer's Association
Today Barbara is joined by Susan Howland, Program Director of the Alzheimer's Association, California Southland Chapter. Susan tells us about their mission…
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Daddy's Little Girl
Emma Travis has a bright future. Brought up by loving parents, she started a new, exciting job in 2019 and recently got engaged to the love of her life. Her…
Dementia DiscussionsTake Care of Yourself - Do Whatever it Takes to Find Help
Today, Barbara welcomes caregiver and loving husband of almost 58 years, Ted Snyder. Ted talks about his wife Rena’s battle with Alzheimer’s. He shares some of…
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Welcome to Dementia Discussions
Coming April 2021! A weekly podcast about dementia. Join your host, Barbara Hament, as she interviews medical professionals, caregivers, and various experts on…