Lifestyle

When people hear the word dementia, they immediately think of Alzheimer’s Disease – and rightly so, as Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common form of dementia. However, as we have been discussing, Alzheimer’s Disease is not the only fish in the sea! Today, we are going to learn a little about Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD).

What caught my attention most during the Medicare Open Enrollment last fall didn’t have anything to do with insurance coverage options. During the nearly two-month period, I met with hundreds of people and almost all expressed concerns or anxiety about the current state of affairs, the direction in which the country was headed, and what the future might hold. It didn’t matter which side of the political aisle, just about everyone seemed to feel similarly and share in a larger sense of unease.

Did you know that Prairie Five offers tax preparation services? We have tax clinics available in several locations in the five counties we cover (Big Stone, Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Swift, Yellow Medicine) provided through our partnership with the Internal Revenue Service’s VITA program. VITA is the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, and the initiative was designed to support free tax preparation services. If your annual income is less than $84,000 (with wages paid by an employer; self-employment of less than $10,000 only), then you qualify for this free service. Tax services are available by appointment only and while there are still spots available, I’d suggest calling the Tax Clinic Line at 320-226-8118 soon to get yours reserved.

In my last article, I shared about the different varieties of fish - and how each have their own “look.” The same is true about dementia. Dementia can present itself differently depending on the type and what part of the brain is being affected.

Many people have been caregivers at one point or another but often don’t see themselves as such. The term “caregiver” can sound a bit formal or like it’s a specific job title when most people who are caregivers say they are just doing what is right, being helpful, or fulfilling their responsibilities as a family member. A caregiver is a person who helps another with any of these: providing or coordinating transportation; buying or organizing medications; taking care of money; making meals; monitoring medical conditions; making medical appointments; talking with health care professionals; helping with activities of daily living such as getting dressed, taking a bath or shower, eating and using the toilet. Caregiving may be short term, like helping a neighbor after a surgery, or longer term such as when a spouse has dementia. Most caregivers have no formal training and don’t feel prepared.