She Can Still Sing!

I have been debating about whether I would share this or not. Being that this blog is about being creative and enjoying the arts. I thought it would be appropriate to highlight my Mom this week. 

Although my Mom currently has many disabilities, including dementia, she is still able to remember the words to many songs that she sang her entire life. One of the things she always enjoyed was music and singing so we play music for her and are surprised when she can still sing along. Amazing how the brain works! 

Last Sunday, September 8th, Cubans all over the world praised Our Lady of Charity, also known as Our Lady of El Cobre, patroness of Cuba,  As my Mom was about to receive communion from her dear friends, Hortensia and Angie, we asked her if she remembered what she used to sing on that particular day years ago. She broke into song and I recorded to share with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

As the great-grandchildren would say, "Good job, Pua!"
(Video below. Must have Flash to view it)

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/04/3605819/our-lady-of-charity-mass-to-be.html

I Still Can....with Art

Dementia and Alzheimer are becoming common words in our vocabulary.  You may not have first hand experience in dealing with the ravages of this disease, but you may have a friend or neighbor that is trying to cope with an affected relative. The disease can turn the most brilliant mind into one that cannot remember what they did five minutes earlier or who they were in their previous lives. Coping is done on a day-to-day basis, since there are mood changes, emotional distress, agitation and even aggressive episodes. You never know which emotion, or how many, you may encounter on any given day.

It has been found that creative activity opens the emotional interiors of these patients. Painting is a non-verbal way to reach these patients and offer them the power of choices and decisions that they have lost in their daily lives. For those of us with a relative in a home setting, these art sessions can be accomplished with blank paper, coloring books, crayons, watercolors and allowing them time each day to relax and express themselves. 

 My Mom was an independent, happy woman, living alone a year ago, and is now a person requiring 24-hour care and lost in her own mind. My niece, Karina, an artist, brought her art supplies and brings her 8 year old daughter, Tiffany, to paint with her. My mom enjoys the family time, the creativity and my grand-niece calls it a “play date” with grandma. What could be better? Their creations are posted in her room as a reminder of what she created and what she is still capable of doing.

In some of the research I have done, I came across an international documentary. See write-up below:

"I Remember Better When I Paint is a 2009 feature length international documentary film about the positive impact of art and other creative therapies in people with Alzheimer's disease and how these approaches can change the way the disease is viewed by society. The film examines the way creative arts bypass the limitations of dementia disorders such as Alzheimer's and shows how patients' still-vibrant imaginations are strengthened "

Click here to view the trailer.

For now, we are caring for my Mom the best way we can, learning as we go and trying to find ways to bring a little normalcy into her new world.