Monthly Archives: February 2019

Collaborative Trial and Error

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Jon Wagner

As I learned more about the trial and error adjustments she made while visiting Leslie, I came to regard Lisa not only as a kind and loving daughter but also as an extremely imaginative and effective care-giver. That regard persists … Continue reading →

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Empirical Questions

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Jon Wagner

A lot of what we’d like to know about Alzheimer’s and dementia can be asked in the form of empirical questions. By empirical, we mean that the best way to answer the question is to get the best information possible … Continue reading →

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Problematic Questions

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Jon Wagner

We consider questions “problematic” when they reflect false, misguided or demeaning assumptions. Some problematic questions go beyond that to implicitly or explicitly dehumanize people who are living with Alzheimer’s or dementia, their care-givers, family and friends, or the rest of … Continue reading →

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Visiting When She’s Entranced – 10 May 2017 –

Posted on February 24, 2019 by Jon Wagner

I had a good “new normal” visit with Leslie today. She was seated at her lunch table, awake and lightly smiling when I arrived around 11:30. rolled her into the activity room for some arm stretches, and we did those … Continue reading →

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Visiting When She’s Asleep – 24 April 2017 –

Posted on February 24, 2019 by Jon Wagner

Leslie was awake when I arrived to visit with her, and she stayed awake through arm stretches (which she did just fine) and through an animated lunch. She reached for everything in front of her, and put a fair amount … Continue reading →

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How is She Doing? – 12 September 2013 –

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Jon Wagner

A little less than two years after I began seeing Leslie at Kairos (her first memory care home), her brother and sister—both of whom lived too far away to visit regularly—asked me how she was doing. I struggled briefly to … Continue reading →

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Hand Chatting

Posted on February 17, 2019 by Jon Wagner

When she could still walk and stand, I held my cousin Leslie’s hand to steady and support her. It was also comforting and pleasurable for me, and I think for her, but I never thought about it as more than … Continue reading →

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Inferring She’s There

Posted on February 17, 2019 by Jon Wagner

I made this video while visiting my cousin Leslie in her first memory care residence. It was a nice day, and we’d spent most of an hour or so in the courtyard, sitting with our backs to several trees and … Continue reading →

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Mind the Gaps

Posted on February 16, 2019 by Jon Wagner

Every photograph frames a story about people who are no longer present, at least not in the same way. The story involves anyone who made the photograph or is visible in it. Some photographs also suggest absences other than those … Continue reading →

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Trial and Error

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Jon Wagner

Lisa was a gifted experimenter and my primary trial and error coach. When Leslie became too frustrated to read along with full pages of text, Lisa tried children’s books, photo books and magazines and noted which ones seemed to work … Continue reading →

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