Caught Up In The Meat loaf
For 4 years I have won the battle with FTD (Frontotemporal Dementia) and, all things considered, including all the potential threats, I’ve had a good four years. But lately, Papa, I am afraid. Not like...
View ArticleDementia + Drug Treatments: Complicated at Best
I fired up the laptop to write a post about a report our friend John Sandblom shared with Vicki about higher mortality risks with antipsychotic drugs often used with older dementia patients (U.S. Food...
View ArticleSims, Design, and FTD
I am a diehard The Sims FreePlay gamer. I work hard on it every day because (1) I enjoy it, and (2) It forces me to think sequentially, which is the hardest part of my disease (Frontotemporal Dementia...
View ArticleDo Not Ask Me To Remember
When we saw it, Vicki and I each wanted to share this message with you. It captures this time in Vicki’s life so clearly.
View ArticleLate Night and Parish Life
It’s 1:39a. I’m playing games on both my PC and my iPad. Tomorrow I am hoping (praying) that I can attend our parish healing Mass. I can’t sleep. I’ve had 3 sessions of dystonia (seizure-like, muscle...
View ArticleToday is a bad day. Tomorrow will be good
I will never understand how the brain works. Or, in my case doesn’t. I still have the intelligence to know how things should be. But I have no control over how to perform the actions to make life...
View ArticleRemembering Cousin Jay
My dear cousin, Jay Mathews, passed away Sunday morning after a tortuous 3 year battle with cancer. I – and his family & friends – are devastated. He gave without asking, told the same corny jokes...
View ArticleSurprise Fourth Of July
The day dawned, so beautiful it almost choked me up looking out the window as the sun rose. A perfect day from Papa. I just lay there, the breeze shuffling the sheets, the birds singing. A perfect day…...
View ArticleThanksgiving 1950
Thanksgiving 1950 – forever. What child has not had a phone shoved into their face, with a mom saying “look who wants to speak with you??”. You roll your eyeballs at your mother, and, upon accepting...
View ArticleChristine Bryden: A conversation about dementia
Yesterday, July 17, 2014, was the 5-year anniversary of Vicki receiving her diagnosis of having something called “Frontotemporal Dementia” (FTD), and was told she had only 6 months to 2 years left to...
View ArticleRest in Peace, Brother Robin
Robin Williams has died. I am speechless, but I knew I would see this one day. Geniuses & artists are prophets, in a way. He shared his genius – and we responded – for so many years. But he needed...
View ArticleA New Year
We didn’t expect to be here, welcoming 2015. When Vicki was diagnosed with FTD in July, 2009, she was told she had 6 months to two years to live. Thanks to prayers, family & friends, and Beanni –...
View ArticleSigns of Spring
I don’t want to jump the gun, but I think Spring is coming. It’s time for Winter to move on. The sun is shining more, snow’s melting, and the hibernating lawns will start growing and turning green...
View ArticleGood Days
Thank you, Papa, for a wonderful weekend. Good days don’t come often enough anymore, and two in a row is a very special gift. Vicki
View ArticleCherish – and Make – Valentine’s Memories
How I loved Valentines Day. Always symbolized by my Mom as meatloaf, the moldable meat. On this day it was a heart. Mom had scalloped potatoes and wiggly jello as a side. But I amped it up with Bunny...
View ArticleParallels
This is Jim writing (I don’t want you to blame Vicki). I love to drive! Growing up in metro Detroit I was immersed in the auto industry – Detroit was the Motor City. I’m not a “car guy” who can fix...
View ArticleDays Like This
This early October day was blooming more beautifully than the weather people said it would. From my bedroom window at 8 o’clock this morning, there were some clouds but a blue sky and the sun fell...
View ArticleSpoken from the Heart
It’s been almost 8 years since Vicki was diagnosed with FTD, although she experienced many of the symptoms for several years before her diagnosis. Late diagnosis, tragically, is common for persons who...
View ArticleAnother Spring!
We made it through another Michigan winter! Trees are going from bare to budding to new leaves. Snowblowers are hibernating while lawnmowers come back to life. You can hear the sound of someone mowing...
View Article“I’m not a robot”
Vicki and I appreciate people taking time to share a comment with Vicki about her ongoing story told through posts here on Vicki’s Voice. One of the good things about the Internet is the ability to...
View ArticleJim’s Tinkering with the Website
I’m doing some work behind the scenes here at Vicki’s Voice and our Internet connection may be interrupted or you’ll see a temporary site occasionally. I hope to have things all polished up and running...
View ArticleHi, Fr. Charlie
About 9 years ago, Vicki introduced me to a most delightful person, Fr. Charles Irvin – better known as Fr. Charlie. Fr. Charlie is a priest of the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan, and celebrated the 50th...
View ArticleAt Home
It has always brought me peace, whether pulling in the driveway or sitting on my porch. My prayer was to never leave here. My last journey would lead from here. I fought so hard to keep this home, but...
View ArticleHappy Birthday — to Me!
It’s the eve of my 70th birthday. I can’t remember how I got here, but here it is. Age is but a number, I’ve heard. A BIG number (laughing to myself). But not here. Here at “The Villa” I’m a kid. Daily...
View ArticleWinter Came. Celebrations Postponed.
I’d planned to drive to Vicki’s this week and celebrate her birthday, a little belatedly. As she wrote in a post earlier this month, Vicki has reached her 70s. Happy Birthday, my dear Friend! But my...
View Article“I Don’t Hate Anyone!”
“I Don’t Hate Anyone!” was in the headlines this morning, attributed to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, when asked if she hated the president. “I pray for the president every day.” Well, Nancy, so...
View ArticleI’ve Missed You
I’ve missed you. This past year has been a bit of a challenge for me. I moved from a home and town I loved, to a new town and a new way of life — a retirement community! My choice. I’m near all my...
View ArticleDel Webb, Anyone?
It doesn’t matter whether you choose a luxurious house like those found in a Del Webb community, or a low-income Senior housing situation. It’s all the same. At some point you will realize you are in...
View ArticleContrasts
Looking for some light TV entertainment a couple of weeks ago, I decided to watch an episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, a 1969-1974 BBC television series I hadn’t watched in many years. It was...
View ArticleMise en Place
Mise en place (French pronunciation: [mi zɑ̃ ˈplas]) is a French culinary phrase which means “putting in place” or “everything in its place”. It refers to the setup required before cooking, and is...
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