I have been spending a lot time hearing from the residents at The Village of Riverside Glen and has been enjoying it so much. Today I get to share from a different perspective, interviewing Heather Culford, a Guelph resident who's mother resides in the Dementia Care Neighbourhood at the retirement centre. This time has been challenging for all of the residents and their loved ones - for months loved ones couldn't visit at all, and now thankfully there are distanced visits possible outside, with masks, and more than six feet apart. But even these forms of visits come with challenges: Some residents have difficulty hearing, and rely on reading lips, which they can't do from behind masks. Some have vision issues, and find it hard to recognize their masked loved from from a distance.
Talking to Heather for this episode highlights another experience - when a loved one's memory, creates the sense that these visits may not have happened at all. That was a big concern of Heather's, but she is discovering that there's another side to this too - in some cases, memories and realities blend, and they may even feel like they're being visited all the time, by people from throughout their life, not limited by time or space. Some of these seniors remain oblivious to the severity of our global pandemic. It's a complicated and heavy perspective to consider, but there are lots of beautiful and unique aspects within it. Thank you so much to Heather for sharing.
This interview was originally recorded on June 23rd, 2020
