Hi everyone!
Although I haven’t posted for a while it’s not because I’ve abandoned my crusade to
help fellow dementia caregivers. On the contrary. The past year has been a very busy
one for me.
In March of 2023, a town councilwoman who had read Jinxed! Laughing in the Face
of Alzheimer’s invited me to join the newly founded Fountain Hills Dementia-Friendly
Taskforce. I humbly accepted and have since been working with a stellar team of
dedicated individuals who meet monthly with the goal of making Fountain Hills, Arizona
a dementia-friendly town. These individuals include town personnel, healthcare workers,
first responders (fire and sheriff’s department), and people like me who have dementia
caregiving experience.
On April 27th, the team held our first community summit dedicated to dementia
caregivers which included industry vendors, guest speakers, and a delicious brunch. I
had the best job of all – assisting in the respite room where we did music therapy with
the family members placed in our care. We had a blast singing and dancing to the
oldies. The summit was such a huge success we’ve decided to make it an annual event.
Another result of the taskforce has been the creation of the monthly “Memory Café,”
which is sponsored by Prestige In-Home Care. Dementia caregivers and their “loved
ones” are invited to attend – free of charge – the comfortable social gathering to
connect, socialize, and build support networks. I help facilitate the meetings and share
my personal knowledge and experience. I also enjoy working with those experiencing
memory loss on art projects in an adjacent room, allowing their caregivers a much-
needed break and an opportunity to speak freely with others about their daily
challenges.
In the future, I promise to do better at keeping my followers informed or risk forty
lashes from my social media marketer (aka daughter Caitlin).
Cheers!
Marlene Jaxon
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