Dementia and Birthdays: Celebrating Life

 

20160229_140504When one of our dear friends has a birthday, it is an occasion to celebrate! But just as our visits are individually tailored to meet each dear friend’s needs, so are our birthday celebrations.

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Some of our dear friends know it is the day of their birth and, with clues, can give us bits and pieces of information about their early years.  Yet others don’t understand the concept of birthdays any more, but simply enjoy a party atmosphere with the brightly colored decorations, the singing, the cake, and the fun party favors.

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Our Lady-Links know how to celebrate with much fanfare or with softer, gentler demonstrations of acknowledgment.  But the purpose is the same….to celebrate life and friendship.

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For us, it isn’t about age…in fact, our youngest dear friend is the one who is in the most advanced stage of Alzheimer’s.  Rather, we celebrate our dear friends’ birthdays because we believe it is a way to honor them and to show that we value our relationship with them.

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It doesn’t matter whether they “get it” that it is their specific birth day…what matters is that they know that we care and have arranged an event in which they feel special.

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