The Lady-Links celebrate seasons and holidays with joy.  Such events provide an opportunity to share memories and observations which bring out the joy in our conversations.  In addition, the related craft projects we make with our dear friends are fun and meaningful and provide joy to the residents in our continuing care facility who receive them.

Our Easter crafts throughout the years include inspirational faith-based messages and spring-themed messages of hope and new life.

Joy…that’s what the season is all about…and the Lady-Links too!

A good start to any event helps with the success of that event.  But what happens when the timelines begin to run together and the start and finish lines blur? That’s the feeling that many of our dear friends have as they journey through their walk with various stages of cognitive decline.  When time stretches out and there’s no definition to the days, a visit from the Lady-Links can make a difference.  It’s all in how we start!

Start Here……..

Our visits start with an attitude of cheerfulness, a plan of engagement, and the confidence that we will make a positive difference starting from the moment we enter our dear friend’s home.  Not only do we have a good start to each visit, but we give each dear friend a fresh start by helping her change her perspective even if it is only for a short while.

A fresh start…rejuvenates, reconnects, recharges and renews our spirits.

We plan for ways to engage our dear friends that will refresh their spirits and ours too!  Take, for example, something as simple as scarves….it’s fun to look at the design of colors, patterns and textures….and to talk about how to wear them.  Plus that inspires memories of when we wore them and what we were doing at the time.

Suddenly, we have a fresh start….a new focus of attention, a new memory brought to life that was previously forgotten,  and a new connection of similar ideas and trends we all enjoy.

A fresh start can give a boost of energy and enthusiasm as well.  Our dear friends engage in our activities with an increased level of motivation and joy according to their spouses and/or caregivers.  We’ve seen that for ourselves….the smiles, the body language, the twinkle in their eyes… let us know that our visits are providing a fresh start regardless of what has happened previously in the day.  Whether it is with a scarf or a Precious Moments collectable, the Lady-Links know how to bring joy to each visit that fills their dear friend with an eagerness to be a part of a group experience.

When the visit ends, we have been told that the positive feelings and improved attitudes of our dear friends will linger long after we’re gone.

A fresh start….a way to begin again regardless of what happened previously.  Cognitive impairment brings many challenges to the lives of our dear friends and their families. From one day to the next, even from one hour to the next, they are faced with difficulties of daily living.   What a joy it is to bring a way to rejuvenate, reconnect, recharge and renew their spirits with a fresh start. One day there will be an end to Alzheimer’s and related cognitive issues, but until then, the Lady-Links will bring a fresh start to each visit we make.

 

 

 

Smiles!  We love to see them.  As Lady-Links we find ways to bring out the smiles of our dear friends, those ladies in our community with various types of cognitive decline.  Our Show and Tell visits are some of our favorite times with our dear friends because the smiles just keep coming as we “show” and “tell” about something that is meaningful or interesting to us.

Cute dog pictures along with stories about how we have fun with them are sure to bring smiles.

Of course, we must provide a wardrobe for our dogs…..scarves, hats, sweaters, jackets….Who wouldn’t want a well-dressed dog???? We laughed about how some of the dogs in our community are better dressed than we are!!!!

Switching topics from accessorizing our dogs to accessorizing ourselves is another way to bring out a smile! We always enjoy showing special pieces of jewelry that are meaningful to us and sharing the story behind each piece.

Putting on an apron, getting out a 60 year old cookbook,  and holding hot pads made on a loom like we did when we were girls brought out more big smiles!  We laughed about our “failures” in the kitchen during our early years of marriage….tuna noodle casserole was practically fool-proof, so that one always worked, but other culinary delights required more time and skill!

What item do you have that you can use as a “springboard” for conversation starters and memory catchers with your friends or loved ones in various stages of cognitive decline?  The smiles are there….you just have to get them started!

 

We all want to enjoy healthy living for as long as we can.  Research supports the idea that good relationships are a part of healthy living.  Because the Lady-Links know that connecting with others can help with mental and emotional well-being, our weekly visits to ladies in various stages of cognitive decline are designed to engage these dear friends  in enjoyable activities.  In addition to what we have seen firsthand, research has found that there are cognitive benefits from having enjoyable social interactions for those with Alzheimer’s and other related types of dementia.

Our visits are designed to be enjoyable for our dear friends and for our Lady-Links.  We form sincere bonds of friendship that promote positive social interaction.  We realize that Alzheimer’s and related dementias are progressive, but we also have seen evidence of short-term spikes of cognitive ability during our visits as we engage our dear friends in activities.  Our trained Lady-Links know how to encourage communication by asking the right types of questions or prompting memories through our teamwork in games, crafts, music, show and tell activities or special events.

Good relationships established through our friendship visits are part of a socialization process that benefits all of us. The researchers know that and the Lady-Links do too!

 

 

 

 

 

Two training sessions are required for ladies who want to become Lady-Links.  The first session deals with the basics of our Lady-Links program, plus information on dementia, and concludes with tips for successful communication with someone in cognitive decline.  The second session covers specifics on the visits we make, including what is expected before, during, and after the visit.  We incorporate the best of training techniques with technology-based learning, instructor-led interactive sessions, coaching/mentoring, printed materials, and role playing to make our training meaningful, inspirational and fun.

Our training was improved this year with the addition of an 11-minute video on “Understanding Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias” which was made by the Medical Director of our retirement community.

The video explains that dementia is a general term for symptoms like decline in memory, reasoning or other thinking skills.  Alzheimer’s is a specific brain disease that accounts for 60-80% of dementia causes.  Other types of dementia are discussed such as vascular dementia and Lewy Body dementia.  The stages of Alzheimer’s are included as well as documentation of  the importance of socialization in the lives of those with dementia.

Happy Talk, a presentation that targets verbal and non-verbal communication among friends, explains that the goals for Lady-Links who interact with their dear friends are very different from the communication goals that a family member or caregiver would have.  Our focus is on engaging our dear friends in enjoyable activities….we are not responsible for feeding, clothing, or basic daily living skills….so our training in communication is geared toward how to “celebrate the joy of conversation” by keeping what she can do, not what she needs to do, in mind.

Our training includes time for questions and answers, and time to hear insights about our program and the visits we make from current Lady-Links.

With role playing on Do’s and Don’ts of communication, how to engage our dear friends in making a craft or play a game, and how to socialize with our dear friends when we see them in and about our community apart from our visits….well, our training covers a lot of ground!

Each new Lady-Link is scheduled for dear friend visits with other current Lady-Links who serve as  mentors through the first several months.  Additional training occurs throughout the year through this website and with the speakers on cognitive issues our community schedules.  We have great support from our community’s Administrative Staff, our Medical Center, and our Resident Life Staff.  Our program is about to complete 9 years of enriching the lives of our dear friends with love and laughter from the compassionate ladies who are called “Lady-Links.”  Thank you Lady-Links for the joy you bring to others.

Only love can account for 28 ladies braving an ice storm with wind chills down to 5 degrees to get together to make over 150 valentines to send to residents and dear friends in our continuing care community.  Full disclosure ….no one walked outside to get here… but nevertheless, if the truth were known, we have plenty of Lady-Links who would have tackled snow, sleet, ice or rain if needed.  That’s how strong the bonds of friendship love are between the Lady-Links and their dear friends, those ladies in our retirement community who are in various stages of cognitive decline.  But the worst we had to “tackle” was wearing masks due to continuing COVID restrictions.  The masks cover up the big smiles on all our faces but you can see the smiles in our eyes.

Our craft coordinator had all the supplies arranged for creating 150 unique valentines to share.  Each Lady-Link added her own creative touches, choosing from some 500 + pieces to come up with original designs.

What began in pieces became masterpieces.

Lots of talking, laughing and love are always a part of our events and visits.

 

It was a LOVELY time, despite the weather, because there was plenty of LOVE to brighten any day!

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

Despite Icy Weather

The Lady-Links’ Love Shines Through

 

 

 

It was the best of times …it was the worst of times…but the Lady-Links took every possible opportunity to enrich the lives of their dear friends during the past two years regardless of circumstances.  We made the best of the best and the best of the worst by staying connected (or “linked” as we like to say) to our dear friends in safe and healthy ways.  As we face this new year, we know that we will handle whatever circumstances occur in the best possible way.  How can we do that?  Because we’re Lady-Links…we care and we will always give our dear friends our very best.

We are looking forward to this new year…looking to provide our best in every way.  But to move forward, it is good to look back to see how we managed to give our best during the worst of times:

We were restricted from making personal visits to our dear friends during the height of COVID, but the Lady-Links could meet as a group if we did so outside while wearing masks, staying six feet apart, and limiting our time together to 30 minutes or less.  We even had to disinfect the surfaces we used.  At least this provided the best way to send things to our dear friends to let them know we were thinking of them, helping to dispel the effects of loneliness  during their isolation.

When it was considered safe to meet inside…still wearing masks and social distancing and with a time limit of 30 minutes…we created more projects to send to our dear friends.

We found that to make the best of the worst  isn’t really so bad. In fact, it brought out the best in us:  we became creative in ways we never knew existed!

So…..we are looking ahead (keeping the past two years in mind) knowing that this next year will be the best ever!  At least, the Lady-Links will make it that way because that’s what we do.  Love never forgets how to turn the worst into the best.

As Lady-Links we look for ways to engage our dear friends in an activity or project that has meaning to them. We want to make each moment of our weekly visits matter in the lives of our dear friends in several ways.  We want them to enjoy what they are doing, and we want to help them feel that their lives are special.

Prior to visiting, we take time to find out from family members what interests our dear friends had before they began their journey into cognitive decline.  Our visits are planned with those previous interests and hobbies in mind.  This serves as a “link” to their past that hopefully helps them connect to a memory that matters.

Keeping “linked” is what the Lady-Links do at each visit….linking through love and laughter to enrich the lives of our dear friends.  This is often done by linking to a memory.  But when that doesn’t happen,  we don’t get discouraged….we just find another way to connect… by doing something we call “linking in the moment.”

We can talk about what we see in a picture….

We can talk about how pretty a piece of jewelry is…

We can talk about how lovely the flowers are…

We can talk about what the craft represents….

We can talk about how we’re being silly and having fun…

What matters most is that our dear friend feels that she is loved, valued, and has a group of friends who truly enjoy being with her. Whether it’s in her memory or “in the moment” we want each visit to matter in special ways.

Lady-Links….Linking in the “Then” and “Now” because that helps make “Moments that Matter”

Have you ever seen a green glass pumpkin?  I hadn’t either until I was one of the Lady-Links at a Show and Tell visit to a dear friend recently. I was intrigued, as was our dear friend, at the pumpkin and  the story behind it.  The Lady-Link who brought it talked about her “green glass” collection and how she came to buy this hand-blown piece by an artist who is well known in his local community in a small New England village.  This inspired conversation about pumpkins (real or otherwise), things that are made of glass, and things that are usually the color green.  Perfect.  That was exactly our “purpose”…..to engage our dear friend in conversation.

Show and Tell is a way to connect with our dear friends by sparking a memory from the past and/or eliciting a response based on the “here and now.”  For example, a high school charm bracelet was used to remind our dear friend of her high school activities.  Seeing the bracelet, she contributed to the conversation about what was typical to do “back in the day” in high school.  As for the “here and now” she said the bracelet was pretty and should continue to be worn.  That led to other discussions about what jewelry was popular now and “back then.”  (Remember wearing your boyfriend’s “ring on a chain around your neck” when you went steady?) That led to a fun discussion about boyfriends, the cars they had and where we went on dates.  This kind of “Girl Talk” always brings lots of giggles which is exactly what we want when we visit our dear friends…love, laughter and fun in an activity that keeps all of us engaged.

Jewelry is always a good item to bring as it fits so well into both the “then” and “now” categories, plus there’s always a good story behind each piece of jewelry that can lead to opening more topics of discussion….who gave it to us or where/when did we get it, where was it worn, what the piece represents, how often we wear it….and the list is endless.  A great way to engage a person with cognitive issues.

Prompting memories that help our dear friends engage in conversation is made easier when the object can be held.  Our Show and Tell items are selected to be easy to hold and passed around between the Lady-Links and our dear friends. Memories from childhood are ones that seem to remain longest, so items that connect in one way or another to our dear friend’s early years will always inspire the most conversation

Music

Antiques

Things we Did as Children  (Remember weaving these on a loom?)

Fine China or Display Pieces

Items from a Garden (We actually grew this cotton in our community’s garden area.)

 

Things We Collect.

From Holiday Items to Hobby Items and everything in between, Show and Tell is a great conversation starter.  Plus it’s a sure way to form connections, past and present.

The Lady-Links always find ways to “link” through love and laughter, and Show and Tell visits are one of the best ways to do just that!

 

 

The Lady-Links and their families enjoyed their annual Christmas event making ornaments for our dear friends and other residents who reside in the continuing care facility of our retirement community.  We know how to put the “merry” in Merry Christmas with fun activities, cute decorations, and delicious treats made by one of our own Lady-Links.  All in all, we made over 100 Christmas and holiday ornaments to share with others.

Our Crafts Coordinator who managed this huge undertaking for us!

We are thankful for the husband of our very first dear friend who hosts our Christmas event each year.  This picture is from that first Christmas Lady-Links celebration.

Our host and our Lady-Links Administrative Coordinator.  Merry Christmas to all.