A Dementia Roadmap for Families – pt. 2

Known as the disease of a thousand goodbyes, dementia affects
about 1 in 7 Canadians over the age of 70 (alzheimers.org). While
different kinds of dementia vary in their initial presentation and rate
of progression, there are features of the dementia journey common
to all…

A Dementia Roadmap for Families

Known as the disease of a thousand goodbyes, dementia affects
about 1 in 7 Canadians over the age of 70 (alzheimers.org). While
different kinds of dementia vary in their initial presentation and rate
of progression, there are features of the dementia journey common
to all…

Ten Things I’ve Learned…

A year after changing career paths and becoming involved in senior care, Sharon Simpson reflected on the ten biggest lessons she has taken from her work at Menno Place…

Eleven Helpful Things for Hospital Visitation

Pastor Walter Wiens has taken the time to write a comprehensive guide to hospital visitation etiquette with eleven different points to guide you in visiting family and friends who are hospitalized.

Human Connection – the Loneliness Solution

“Lonely seniors die sooner – do something about it.” My way of doing something about it is to write a bit about it and provide some direction and hope…

A Christmas in the Summer

As young teens, our top hits were Jeruzalem and ‘Ere zij God’ – Glory to God.
We sang Jeruzalem everywhere -in school, at work, or in our minds while biking, but never in church.
‘Ere zij God,’ Glory to God, on the other hand, we sang in church exclusively, however, only once a year…

Are you in the ‘sandwich generation’?

The sandwich generation is a term first coined by social worker Dorothy Miller in 1981. She was describing adult children who were “sandwiched” between their aging parents and their own maturing children.

Caring from Our Heart

The children had been sitting with their dying mother for several days. On our first visit Edith and I – along with the family – expected that God would call their mother home any hour.  On our second visit, some three days later, we again sat with the family, expecting God to call her home any moment. After reading Psalm 23 and praying slowly and clearly so their dear mother could hear, one daughter asked, “Pastor Walter, why is death so hard?” …

All in a Day at Menno Place

I was worried about the weather, it was rainy and cold in the morning. Would it clear up for the afternoon release of butterflies? I earnestly hoped the sun would come through so that letting the butterflies free to fly could take place…

First Impressions at Menno Place

Monday morning, my first day of a brand new job; I drove into the Menno Place parking lot full of trepidation. Not only is this my first “grown up” job, it is my first real encounter with the world of seniors care…