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Navigating Dementia Care and Holistic Aging in Caribbean Communities Episode Transcript

00:00 - Damaris (Host)

Now understanding dementia a little bit better. We have to be open to the fact that sometimes we need to consider resources that in our community we never would have like assisted living facilities. That was something we ultimately had to do with my father.

00:23 - Nachi (Host)

Welcome to another episode of I'm Not Yelling, I'm Dominican podcast hosted by Nachi and Damaris. It's your girl, Nachi, and I'm here with Damaris, your favorite teller of hard truths.

00:37

Oh, yes, we love when you tell the truth. Tell it just like it is. I try, well, I know, I know Just like it is. I try, well, I know, I know Well. We are also delighted to have with us Rianna

00:48

Patterson. She is the producer and director of the documentary Dementia, the Island Journey and founder of the Dominica Dementia Foundation. So dementia is something that hits home for me and Damaris and Rianna. We're just so happy that you took the time out to talk with us about how that impacts our Caribbean community, because it's a little different right, and so I'd like to welcome you first and also allow you sometimes to just share a little bit about yourself to our listeners.

01:29 - Rianna (Host)

Yeah, no worries at all. Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I'm excited for the conversation that we're going to have, but for your viewers hi everyone, it's nice to be on this platform. My name is Rianna and I'm the founder of the Dominica Dementia Foundation. So we're a youth-led dementia charity in Dominica and, like the mayor said, I have personal experience with dementia.

01:54

So my grandfather he passed away with dementia in Dominica and that kind of led me to get involved in dementia work. Most recently, I actually directed a documentary film on dementia in the work. Most recently, I actually directed a documentary film on dementia in the Caribbean. So that project was pretty exciting to pull together. But basically the message, the key take-home message, is you know, we are able to live well with dementia. There's a lot going around in terms of positive aging, aging well, living well and holistic practices related to dementia. So I just wanted to also bring that and tie that into a medium that can be accessible to everyone. So I did that as well, and I'm currently doing my master's in dementia in England. So yeah, that is pretty much me.

02:49 - Nachi (Host)

I love it. I love it, like I said, it's something that hits home for us because both of our parents have been hit with dementia and it's been a journey for the both of us in how to navigate that world and still make them feel like this is not the end of the world, right?

03:18 - Damaris (Host)

So that's been really important for us for us it's such an interesting topic too because I feel like growing up I didn't really see older relatives dealing with dementia in the way that I'm feeling now in our generation we're seeing our parents or even grandparents, but I'd say even just parents, because we're dealing with it directly that there's more of a prevalence of it in the Caribbean that I feel like I just didn't see as a child. I'm curious to hear from you.

03:49

Is that you know? What are you seeing in Caribbean communities and what kind of? How is it manifesting?

03:58 - Rianna (Host)

Yes, certainly. Well, for starters, caribbean communities are often grouped with Latin American communities, as you may know. So in terms of the stats that we have, they're normally grouped. So Latin American and Caribbean communities have an estimated 8.5 prevalence of dementia which is expected to increase by 19.33% by 2050. And that is according to the Lancet, which is a notable publication. So that is quite large numbers for our community. So it's definitely on a higher prevalence in the region.

04:36 - Damaris (Host)

Yeah, and it's interesting too because of the fact that we're now of this generation that's having to deal with it and we've not seen it growing up, right? You, typically you think about when you're growing up. You see an example of like okay, this is how my mom, uh, supported her family, her elders, her parents, and we don't really have the same model, because my parents didn't have to care for their parents in the same way that we were caring for them. And you know, and when you think about it, caribbean cultures, and for us it's you know, we're coming from, our peoples come from Dominican Republic. It's this idea of we always care for our elders, right, we always care for our elders, right, like that's just a priority, even to even mean sacrificing your self-care, right. And now it's like, and even how we look at dementia, it's like, oh, it's just forgetting, right, and it's manageable, right, and it's like, well, not quite in the way, it's a lot more Right.

05:44 - Nachi (Host)

It's like well, not quite in the way, it's a lot more Right.

05:46 - Damaris (Host)

So, like these cultural attitudes, I think it's unique to, there's certain things that are unique to the Caribbean culture and the beliefs around aging and dementia. What are those kinds of challenges that you've seen in the making of your movie and just getting into this space?

06:05 - Rianna (Host)

challenges that you've seen in the making of your movie and just getting into this space. Yeah, I think even the term caregiving is quite loosely understood in our community, because when people think about caregiving they think about personal care you're bathing the person and so on. But caregiving can be just light work, like, you know, going to the shop for granny, you know, for a couple of items. That is also caregiving, but people will not say that they're a carer, because they do that, because that's just part of the culture. You're always fetching something for somebody, right? Um, but that is also part of it.

06:35

Um, but, yeah, other cultural attitudes and beliefs, um, you know, some people still believe that dementia is a normal part of aging and you know they will refer to their family members being senile, which is a stigmatized term um used in our, in our culture. And then there's also some communities that don't even have a name for dementia specifically, so the concept can be quite hard to conceptualize in these communities. Um, in other other instances they're like people that associate dementia with witchcraft as well. And in our culture, you know, it's normal for someone to say, oh, that lady, you know, do something bad in life and that's why she's sick. So we really need to work on bringing in the scientific understanding of dementia to the wider public.

07:21 - Damaris (Host)

I think yeah, because it gets into. That's a perfect segue into this idea of the challenges and the stigma with it, right, especially the stigma of the individuals living with dementia. And then the challenges that the caregivers are facing. Because, again, the term caregiving is, it varies right To by the individual. Because culturally we, like you said, it's like literally, unless you're like bathing them, that's, we don't consider it caregiving, but it's like, no, I handle my mom's finances. That is a form of caregiving. She's no longer able to maintain that or so, um, but the idea of the st this, like you said, either calling people senile or saying that they're going crazy, right, it's like it diminishes.

08:15 - Nachi (Host)

You know them, their este that that leads to isolation, right? Because they, in their own ignorance, they want to protect the person, their loved one, because they're like, because you know, they themselves feel very proud, or this is not, you know the how they want to present themselves to the rest of the world. So let's just keep them away from everyone. And then even them, the, the person themselves living with dementia I feel like they become self-isolating just because they don't want to appear as that they're off or that they're not yeah

09:05

100 yes, and I think that was something that we struggled with with papi, our father. He, he was a very proud man. He was, you know, our, our rock, and we were the ones who leaned on him. You know, he was the provider, he was just like he, he was the source that we, that everyone, went to. So I think that whole transition where, you know, he started losing certain abilities, was a struggle for him.

09:37

And even when trying to present certain things that will help him and aid him in this journey. He was just resistant to it because it was like I can do this, Like there's nothing wrong with me and you know. In a sense, Also with dementia.

09:53 - Damaris (Host)

What I've found as a caregiver and just looking at our both of our parents, is that the causes are very unique and different. So there's also this there needs to be an understanding of the idea that there isn't just one like oh, dementia is hereditary and I just or I'm just getting older and there's a mental decline. For my father it was very specific. It was a result of his strokes.

10:22

It wasn't from aging, because it wasn't till he had his stroke, and then he kept that he had two other major strokes on top of the first major one, and so all that is kind of like vascular risk risk factors.

10:35

Yes, yes, exactly. And so that was just that's why he was as Nachi had just described, that he was trying to not pretend but just trying to not talk about or really highlight the fact that he wasn't doing well, and that's because he knew of those changes internally caused by his brain hemorrhage, right, and so that was difficult to see. And then by that third major stroke, it was just a severe decline and it was just then full on dementia. Yeah, and so, interestingly enough, my mother's cause of dementia for her was when she had to care for him, and this is part of that dialogue of being a caregiver. They've been together for 48 years, so when he became ill from the stroke, she put her all into caring for him, even though she was also in her, you know, late 60s, 70s. So it's just like you, you also.

11:44

We don't recognize that as caregivers there was no blueprint to follow with how to care for someone that has dementia, and so for my mom it was just oh, I'm going to go, you know, just do everything possible, but you're one person, because my sister and I we lived out of state.

12:01

So while, yes, I was going to visit and and trying to help my mom full time. That was her doing that, and so this idea that there are these, um, these cultural beliefs of we have to prioritize the other person's care above our own ended up causing my mom to, because she was operating from high cortisol levels so long of just like she mentally. That affected her to the point that she ended up getting dementia. And for for us, with her, we've been able to stabilize it through the help of our, able to stabilize it through the help of our naturopathic family doctor. But it's a very it's interesting how, because she was just brought up in that very traditional mindset and then there's no blueprint of how do you help someone that has dementia in your life that you're so close to, ie her husband, the father of her children. It ended up affecting her and then he passed away and so it's just like that is like wow, not you know, I'm feeling like can we get a break right?

13:11 - Rianna (Host)

it's just it's a lot it's intense wow yeah my heart goes out to you both. Thank you, that is a lot.

13:20 - Damaris (Host)

Yeah, no, it's um and so and not sure you could probably speak to more because mommy lives with you now. But this idea of like because we have to look or consider rather new paradigms and new models of how we take care of our elders, all right, or now understanding dementia a little bit better, but we have to be open to the fact that sometimes we need to consider resources that in our community we never would have, like assisted living facilities. That was something we ultimately had to do with my father because we needed professionals to help him towards the end of his life. We no longer were able to care for him because he required a significant amount of care that, just like my mom, is 70.

14:07 - Nachi (Host)

We you know we don't live in Florida full-time, it was just a lot yeah, that was definitely a challenge and and you know, there's always guilt behind that right. Culturally we deal with that because we've taught that we all have to take part in caring for our loved one. But not being able to do so it does affect you. But, like Damaris said, we had to kind of change our thought process because does it make sense for mommy to be taking care of him when she's not able to provide the level of care that he needs at that age? And both Damaris and I didn't live there, you know, lived in florida, so it was it's difficult to to do that and I know that was just like a heavy guilt on her as well because, yes, even when he was at the um assisted living facility, she was going there every day and cooking, making, making sure he was eating and, mind you, and it was like they feed him.

15:07 - Damaris (Host)

That's what we're paying them for. And it got to the point and this is why I was referring to with my mother how it caused her own decline mentally Because the amount of effort she put in regularly to go see him. We had to tell her like you can't go see him every day. It was just so much on her like because it was a 30-minute drive one way. But how do you tell someone who you know is just like no, this is the love of my life, for better or for worse, but I'm like also, but not for better or for worse for you either. And it was just. It's a tough conversation and Nachi and I we had a lot of guilt too, just as children, like wow, we're failing, right, because we have to ultimately put him in an assisted living facility, what Like? We weren't ready for that. But I will say I'm so grateful for the place that we ended up finding because it was run by a Jamaican gentleman, so it's like someone from the Caribbean.

16:01 - Rianna (Host)

Oh, lovely.

16:02 - Damaris (Host)

Yes, and it was a home, so it was. He had a maximum of six people that lived there at any given time, and then full-time staff. Vegetables and, and also, you know, combine their medication, though, but give them like juices that would.

16:27

that would be good for their blood pressure, and things like that from the fruit that grew in his backyard yeah, so, but not everyone gets that luxury and I'm grateful that we did, but it was a journey, for that is that? Like, what are those types of stories that you hear from the Caribbean about that?

16:47 - Rianna (Host)

Well, definitely, we have a few people that do distance caregiving. So we have some families in our network in the US as well as in the UK, who are taking care of their family members with dementia in Dominica, you know, either by paying for their carers in Dominica or residential care home fees, and all of that can be quite costly and just to manage that it's almost like a full-time job, right, because of the time zones and all sorts of things. So, yeah, even some families, they manage the care responsibilities within the family. So sometimes the person might be at granny's on the weekend or at auntie's during the week, depending on everyone's working pattern, just to kind of manage that. So they'll have like a timetable, you know, to support their family members if they're not able to cover the cost of care homes in Dominica. So there's a lot of that happening. So I think that is definitely something that we're seeing that is trending a bit more. Yeah, yeah.

17:50 - Damaris (Host)

And how did, how are you finding like bringing more awareness and education in these, you know, in reduce to help reduce the stigma around dementia and also just the educational aspect of understanding what dementia is?

18:06 - Rianna (Host)

Yeah, so at the Dominica Dementia Foundation we have several campaigns that we've done to raise awareness of dementia. One was a talk at a local primary school in Portsmouth so we got some kids to march in the streets of Portsmouth. You know banners that had positive messages on aging and dementia and we tried to. You know kind of cover dementia care as well as risk factors of dementia and the warning signs to look out for on our social media platforms, as well as amplifying positive stories on aging as communities can work together to live well with dementia. So it's just creating that balance of here's the reality, but also here are practical solutions that you can also think about and broaden people's perspective so they don't just think one way of dementia, because there's multiple ways of thinking about this, this situation.

19:02

And we also have an ambassador program with the Dominica State College, so we had some interns with us a couple years ago as well and that was really helpful. You know we learned a lot from them, as they did from us um, and we're trying to reach all the communities as much as we can. So we've done. You know newspaper articles with the dominican news online, the chronicle radio talks. We've had an interview dbs radio with carlton um from jolly'sacy as a group and we had some really interesting and enriching conversations. And you know, some people also called in as well to contribute to the conversation. So that was really helpful. And then the last thing on that I would say, we also have a Domenica Dementia Friends program and that is free and accessible to all communities. So if people want to do a training with us, then we do that as well, just to kind of, you know, increase the knowledge in communities.

20:06 - Damaris (Host)

Dementia, right Like one, is like bringing awareness, but then also the education around it. I think the more we talk about it in our communities, then the more it's accepted and also then understanding that there are various forms of help and various models of how you care for someone going through dementia. So I think that and and I appreciate you sharing the resources, and I wonder is your plan also to expand that to other Caribbean islands and nations?

20:40 - Rianna (Host)

Yeah, I mean, actually I had a conversation recently with an organization that supports people in India and we're talking about maybe having like a cross-cultural nudge sharing something. So that is something that we're definitely considering. And then also regionally happy to collaborate with other Alzheimer's associations in the Caribbean. We have several of them. You know, we have Alzheimer's Barbados, Alzheimer's Association of Trinidad and Tobago. Jamaica has an Alzheimer's Association as well. So, yeah, always up for collaborating. We did a collaboration with Amplify Caribbean. I think they're originally based in Trinidad, but that was about, yeah, just sharing culturally appropriate campaigns on dementia, what it is, you know how to manage it and stuff like that.

21:37 - Damaris (Host)

So it's, you know, for us it was interesting because when I think about for my father and my mother, they both speak, you know, they were born, raised speaking Spanish as their language of origin, speaking Spanish. That was their language of origin and they learned English. But when they both got hit with dementia my mom especially she reverts way more to Spanish now than she does to the English and it's just like something I think is just like part of what she's losing with the dementia. Yeah, so she speaks more English, I mean more Spanish, especially to people who don't speak Spanish, like I'm. Like mommy, no English they don't know, and then she'll oh, yeah, but it's funny how she is now reverting back to Spanish. So it's, you know, it's, yeah, it's. It's just very interesting how dementia really affects people and how they operate.

22:34 - Rianna (Host)

Absolutely.

22:35 - Damaris (Host)

And that's why it's just like there's no one size fits all kind of solution when it comes to caring for individuals with dementia. How was it with your grandfather?

22:47 - Rianna (Host)

Yeah, I mean, it was different things. You know, his personality changed. He was quite frustrated.

22:55 - Damaris (Host)

Yeah, it's almost like they know in their mind that they're thinking straight in their mind, but they can't, you know, actually express that externally.

23:08 - Rianna (Host)

Exactly exactly. So you know, yeah, he was a quiet guy like before the dementia and after it was like very frustrated all the time and didn't. It was restless, really restless. Restless as well. Yeah, he just became someone that I was conversating with but I wasn't even getting any feedback, I wasn't sure if he was listening or you know, it became like a one way conversation, like I was talking to him and not with him, right, and that was really hard, yeah, because, yeah, we didn't have any engagement or anything like that. So, yeah, I didn't know how to navigate it. Honestly, it's emotionally, it's a lot, you know.

23:55 - Damaris (Host)

Yes, it is. It is Because I feel like these stories help people that are also dealing with their own loved ones. And they can then feel like, okay, yeah, I can relate to that.

24:05 - Nachi (Host)

As Tamara said, mommy would just start talking Spanish. You know she flips and it's funny because there's a lady that comes and see her, you know, twice a day just to kind of be her companion while I'm working, and she doesn't speak any Spanish. But you know they'll start talking and she starts flipping out the Spanish and I'm laughing because the poor lady I've heard her at times saying well, can you repeat that in English?

24:33 - Rianna (Host)

She's so nice about it.

24:35 - Nachi (Host)

Yeah, and my mother's like well you better speak Spanish, my mother's like you better learn Spanish.

24:41

Yeah, no, it's pretty hilarious oh my goodness, it's you know we have to laugh at it because, you know it's just part of life, but it's also know it's just part of life, but it's, it's also, it's a reminder. And for us at least, you know, because I know in the beginning I used to tell her mommy, she doesn't know, you know she doesn't speak english. And the same with my kids. My kids doesn't speak spanish, so she'll sin. And then she'll, you know, I'll remind her and say they don't speak Spanish for me and she's like well, they should learn, and then she'll keep it yes, but that's not the way they're going to learn, we agree right.

25:22

So it just got to a point where it's like, well, just let her speak, just let her speak. And now people just like they'll respond to her based on her, off of her cues as to what she's trying to say. So they're like, yeah, no, we're not doing that. It's almost hilarious, but it's just like you have to adapt and allow them to just be, Because sometimes you just have to.

25:49 - Damaris (Host)

you have to flow with it.

25:51 - Nachi (Host)

Yes, and just meet them where they are. You know, just like cooking was a big thing for my mother, you know she was the cook, you know every. You know if we went to go visit her in florida, she's making everything that we love to eat, right, it's just like wow and we definitely missed that. But now you know you have to be with her. You have to kind of work with her and be in the kitchen, so allowing her to cook and not saying no, you can't do that, but just allowing her to exactly certain things and just be there as a support right be there as a sous chef?

26:32 - Damaris (Host)

that's not. She says she'll be her sous chef yes, and she's always asking.

26:38 - Nachi (Host)

And the thing is it's like um, she'll always ask you like well, should I? So should I do that? And I'll say what is that you normally do?

26:47

right, just to see if it but you know she'll think about it and she'll start doing something and she'll ask again what do you think I should be doing? So it's it's going back and forth with her, but allowing her to just do the things, or at least feel like she's doing the things that she used to do, and I think that's really important. And you know, at least that experience is that it's important to allow them, although you, you, may experience something different to them, it's, it's normal, right. It's just like yes, I'm cooking. You know, it may not be the same, in the same fashion that they did before, but it's what she's doing now and that's and it makes her feel good because she did something. You know she she wasn't relying on, relying on me or anyone else doing it for her. And I think when things like that happen, they start to realize like, oh yeah, there's something's wrong with me, you know, because at times she'll say, yes, I used to have dementia, and we're like okay, that's right rebuke dementia mommy yes rebuke it.

27:57 - Damaris (Host)

You don't have it anymore.

27:58 - Nachi (Host)

Speak it into existence you gotta like walk and you gotta do this. You can't just be sitting around doing nothing that's right, mommy.

28:09 - Damaris (Host)

No, you can't, and and I will say that is we. I mentioned earlier that for us, we have stabilized her decline and that has been through the help and aid our loved ones. That are suffering from this and to me. You know there's a lot of environmental factors. I mean we could talk about it for days Food, the amount of processed foods that have things that have triggered that.

28:46

Especially again when you think about, in the Caribbean, previous generations. They didn't really deal with this at the same level, not saying that they didn't have any dementia cases, but not at the same prevalence. But then they were also eating differently. They didn't have a lot of imported processed foods and I'm throwing it out there and I don't care, because we had episodes on big food and it is a predator to our health, right and so-.

29:11

Absolutely creditor to our health right and so absolutely. And there's even recently I came across a study that linked um sugary drinks to um higher risk factors for dementia and don't get me started on sugary drinks be ie soda you know like yeah, I don't, I'm, I'm not about soda at all oh my goodness years ago no, it's so engrossed in our culture.

29:35 - Rianna (Host)

Yes, even in Mexico, um, they had a whole documentary about coca-cola and the effects of it and how people was um talking about, I think, the kind of consequences.

29:48

As el susto like if you had it, it was like something that you did after a loved one, so you're grieving or you know, there was a whole cultural situation in terms of that and, um, you know, diabetes and hypertension and all of these things exist in our culture and they coexist with dementia, right? So you have to manage the risk factors of the diabetes and the hypertension, as well as dementia.

30:14 - Damaris (Host)

So yeah, no, no, it's a lot of it is lifestyle changes, right. And so again for us growing up, my parents, they, they ate well and they were never really into those sugary drinks, but but we shared with you. But they had different causes. Right, one was a stroke, the other was the level of of stress the cortisol levels for an extended period of time like that was just damaging to my mom's nervous system.

30:40

So it is different for everyone and um, and when you know, we go back to the cultural, like practices and things that we need to take into consideration. I I find that certain find that certain things that does help. Mommy has been music from her culture, like she'll hear that and it's like it'll liven her up yeah, it'll give her a spark of life. We're like, yes, let's play some merengue whatever bachata, whatever she needs to hear to you know, to lift her spirits, yeah so it's.

31:12

I think those things kind of help when you take into account, like from, uh, culturally, what has always like, what brings up the mood for your loved ones and for my mom it's music, it's family gatherings, it's cooking, as Nachi mentioned, and food, and so those are things that I feel, like you, you know people can, can think about, of what has made them happy in the past.

31:35

And introducing that, because this doesn't have to be a sentence of like misery- we can figure out ways of trying to make it work Right and for us like you know, we we've stabilized because we have her on a regimen of natural supplements that we've, that we're working on with our caregiver, I mean our healthcare provider, and so it's finding those outlets and and I'm curious to hear from you about you shared some resources specific to Dominica, but are there things that internationally, or just resources that people should tap into when considering these, when considering into, when considering caring for dementia or wanting to understand?

32:17 - Rianna (Host)

Yeah, absolutely so. Alzheimer's Disease International has a lot of resources in terms of promoting dementia-friendly communities, supporting the government on developing a national plan just informal caregiving in itself, and their resources have a global focus related to the Caribbean and other regions. So I would definitely say, check out their resources and their website. There's also the Dementia Friends website and you can find, you know, different resources there as well. There, training, there's webinars, I believe, um. So that is also a good resource and that is also a global network. So there's dementia friends in dominica. That's supported by us, but there's also dementia friends, I think, also in the dominican republic, um and other parts in the caribbean. So I would definitely um recommend checking that out. And then there's also Culture Dementia UK. So it's a bit UK based, but I'm sure you could adapt the resources, but they have a few things on ethnicity and dementia communities, so that might be worth checking out as well.

33:26 - Damaris (Host)

Oh, that's good, Perfect, that's nice, and if some of those things that we can't find, if you can help us with the links, we'll add it to the show notes too, Because I think that sounds great and it'll be easier for people to access, and then just you know. Lastly, something that came up as we were talking what are things that you feel like can be done to help reduce the risk for people and dementia? Because I think the other thing too is that Nachi and I we saw our parents and we're like OK, we're breaking that curse and this is what we're not going to do, so that we don't increase any risk of dementia for ourselves. One is my father. He had his strokes because he refused to address his hypertension, so he ended up getting a stroke because he's like I don't believe I have a high blood pressure okay, it's not a belief, but it's a.

34:23

It's a hidden disease where you don't feel different, but your body is not functioning well because it's yeah you have high blood pressure. So my sister and I were like, okay, what are we doing? What are we eating, how, and are we tracking our blood pressure, because we know it runs in our family.

34:40

So we do that and we're mindful of what we eat, because I'm like my father's an example of what I don't. That's an example of how I don't want to follow in getting dementia. My mom is the other one. We put a lot of focus on our episodes and always center back on self-care. What are you doing?

34:58

to take care of yourself, and sometimes that means, well, it should not even. Sometimes it should always mean that you put yourself first, and it's not about being selfish, it's being self-full, because you can't give if your cup is empty, right, you're running on fumes, and that's what my mom did. She ran on fumes to the point to her own detriment.

35:19

For a very long time, and so those are things that Nachi and I we try to be actively mindful of so that we don't go down the same path. But I'm curious from your work and your research, what have you seen that you're like this?

35:38 - Rianna (Host)

is what people right now should be doing to help reduce that risk in the future. I mean, the Lancet is quite interesting. They publish like modifiable risk factors in Latin Caribbean communities, and a few things came up as hearing loss. Hearing loss is a big thing. Things came up as um hearing loss. Hearing loss is a big thing.

35:56

So ensuring that we're um, you know, regularly checking on our air health is really important, because that is also um decreasing your risk of dementia, um also ensuring that you have good physical health. So exercise is a big thing. Even just taking, you know, a few minutes to walk a couple times a day can also help. And then also ensuring that you're not facing loneliness, because depression is also a risk factor of dementia. So, you know, connecting with people, having social groups, that sort of sorts of of things. And then it's also about cognitive reserve, so ensuring that you can um protect what you already have, so your memory and so on. Doing puzzles, um doing maybe learning a new language or something like that can also help in terms of maintaining um and even improving memory, I would say. So there's there's a lot of things that we can work on.

36:57 - Damaris (Host)

Yeah, no, I love and I love puzzles.

37:02 - Rianna (Host)

I love a puzzle.

37:03 - Damaris (Host)

Yes, yes, At night I also. I have a. I have an app and I play brain games. I'm like you're not going to get me dementia At night, my husband's like, like what are you doing?

37:13

and he'll see, like this game with like dots and balls and all this stuff, he's like, okay, like I'm like you're not gonna get me, but, um, actively, like I said, nachi, having seen it firsthand and seeing our parents deal with it, and it's like I don't want that for myself and I agree, you know, yeah, you have to do everything possible that's within your means and take action, and you have to do it now.

37:42 - Nachi (Host)

Take care of yourself.

37:43 - Rianna (Host)

Because I think what people?

37:44 - Damaris (Host)

also don't understand is that what Maynard realizes, that it's not an immediate onset. Dementia is something that's been gradually building, and then it's like when you see it manifest externally is because it's already been doing its thing internally and for a while. And so, and that was, that definitely was the case from our parents.

38:06 - Nachi (Host)

Yeah and I think that's an issue with a lot of people. It's like you always think oh, I have time, I'll do that later, you know, oh, I'll start tomorrow or next week or whatever the case may be. And it just reminded me of a story that I heard from a provider, and this was diabetes related, and she was just saying that she had like two different patients and they were both pre-diabetic. And she said well, you know, if you don't take care of yourself, within 10 years you're going to develop diabetes. So one patient, when Gunho was taking care of himself, you know, changed his eating habits, was exercising, and when she saw him the next time a year later for his physical, he was fine, you're like, he was doing well, he looked good. Physical, he was fine, you're like he was doing well, he looked good.

38:57

The second patient that came to see her he, she, um, actually ended up having diabetes and she wasn't. She didn't take any accountability for herself. She said you told me I had 10 more years. Wow, wow, wow. So she took that message as oh, I have time. So it's just like when you think about dementia, like a lot of people, wow.

39:17 - Rianna (Host)

Wow yourself and making sure that you're.

39:18 - Nachi (Host)

It's important that we just have to take the time to deal with our own brain health and not think that dementia is something that's going to hit us later in life as you know, when we get old that I met someone who, literally, he was only like 50 and he was diagnosed with dementia. So we got to think about, you know, we always have to. Just, our brain is just like everything else in our body. We have to exercise it, we have to work on it, we have to make sure that we're feeding it well, you know it's just it's like an abundance of factors that we have to take into consideration when, when we're taking care of ourselves.

40:11

So don't wait until later. That's the message.

40:17 - Damaris (Host)

Yes, that's the message, Rianna. Do you have any final parting words of like? We shared a lot and you shared a great an abundance of resources and information for our listeners, and so are there any last things that you're like? No wait, I think. Make sure that people consider XYZ that you want to share.

40:39 - Rianna (Host)

I would just say, just kind of bringing back our thing about dieting. You know, I think it's really important to factor these things into dementia care. So sitting down with your family member and creating a culturally appropriate care plan yes, I think that's that's a really key thing to do, and that would involve diet and it will involve lifestyle choices, such as like physical activity and spiritual health as well, which is a big thing for us in the caribbean.

41:08

So you know, if they can't go to church in person, just tuning into a church virtually can be, you know, some sort of physical, spiritual activity that they can do. We're just keeping them up to date with things that's happening in the community or in the family. And you know, I know some care homes in Dominica have incorporated like a list of Creole activities for residents, so that can also be something that is happening in the household as well. You know, just wearing Creole wear, or you know, putting on these songs that you're saying earlier on, that your family member enjoys because it really helps. You know, music is a powerful tool. Dance is a powerful. Music is a powerful tool. Dance is a powerful tool.

41:53 - Damaris (Host)

Laughter is a powerful tool.

41:54 - Rianna (Host)

Praise God so you know, just taking you know those moments of joy and just making it memorable, you know it means a lot. So, yeah, I think that would be my parting message.

42:06 - Damaris (Host)

No, no. And then, lastly, where can listeners find you again?

42:11 - Rianna (Host)

And then, lastly, where can listeners find you again? Yeah, I'm actually everywhere. I'm on Instagram, so at Rianna Patterson underscore. I'm on Twitter at Rianna Patterson, facebook, if you wish, Rianna Patterson, and LinkedIn as well. So just Rianna Patterson, but M-B-P-S at the end of all of that. Awesome, and we'll also include thatPS at the end of all of that, but, yeah, awesome.

42:33 - Damaris (Host)

And we'll also include that in the show notes. I appreciate that. And then you know, we just want to say we hope that we covered a lot in this conversation resources, our personal experiences of what you may be able to relate to for folks in your life, they may be dealing with dementia.

42:51

So we just hope that from this conversation, people are able to extrapolate what it is that they need to help them in their journey with their loved ones about dementia or just preparing themselves for a future of like. We rebuke dementia. So, that being said, yes, you know, we appreciate our listeners joining in and participating in this and, as always, we like to close our episodes with. There's a lot of noise out there, but our message is consistent Stop getting distracted by the smoke and mirrors, tune out the noise and focus on your divine purpose in life, vibrate higher to elevate your frequency and always thank you for listening. So, that said, don't forget to subscribe to our channel and follow us on Instagram, tiktok and Twitter at. I'm not yelling underscore and we look forward to talking next time. Bye.