- With Mayo Clinic health education outreach coordinator
Angela Lunde
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Angela Lunde
Angela Lunde is a dementia education specialist in the education core of Mayo Clinic's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the Abigail Van Buren Alzheimer's Disease Research Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Angela Lunde
The transfer of information about dementias, as well as understanding the need for participation in clinical trials, is an essential component of the education core.
Angela is a member of the Alzheimer's Association board of directors and co-chair of the annual Minnesota Dementia Conference. She is a member of the Dementia Behavior Assessment and Response Team (D-BART), a multidisciplinary outreach service assisting professional and family caregivers in understanding and managing difficult behaviors often present in dementia. She facilitates several support groups, including Memory Club, an early-stage education and support series, and more recently, helped to develop and now deliver Healthy Action to Benefit Independence and Thinking (HABIT), a 10-day cognitive rehab and wellness program for people with mild cognitive impairment.
Angela takes a personal interest in understanding the complex changes that take place within relationships and among families when dementia is present. She is particularly interested in providing innovative and accessible ways for people with dementia and their families to receive information and participate in valuable programs that promote well-being.
"Amid a devastating disease, there are tools, therapies, programs and ways to cope, and it is vital that families are connected to these resources," she says.
Latest entries
- 10 warning signs of Alzheimer's
Oct. 31, 2009
- Alzheimer's crisis emerging, but progress being made
Oct. 3, 2009
- Taking action gives hope for those with memory loss
Sept. 9, 2009
- Strategies for dementia caregiving
Aug. 4, 2009
- Use grief over Alzheimer's loss to transform yourself
July 11, 2009
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Alzheimer's blog
-
May 29, 2008
Family members share coping strategies, experiences
By Angela Lunde
I have poured over each and every response to my last entry on dementia and family relationships. My heart goes out to each of you struggling right now.
Many of you wrote of the conflict, pain, sadness, and resentment occurring within your families. Thank you for your honesty and candor. I have to believe that many who read these words will find some comfort in knowing that they are not alone. I know you are doing the best you can with the situation you have been presented with.
Others of you wrote that you have come to a place of acceptance and peace on this journey and within your family relationships. Here are some of the ways a few of you have coped that I feel are worth repeating:
- "... we do what we can to help our father and mother while not keeping tabs on who's doing what or who's not doing their share."
- "I was finally able to get over my guilt of having to place him for his own safety and 24/7 care. I am now taking better care of myself."
- "I have found that having a therapist has helped me deal with my sadness while I try to be the best caregiver I can be."
- "You can't be bothered with what others will not do."
- "For me, my mom was my best friend, and I gladly took care of her. I loved her, and miss her to this day. Her Alzheimer's was the best of times, the worst of times. The toughest thing I ever did, but the most satisfying. Miss you, mom."
- "What about some respite help, some companion help? These are things, small things yes but would enable an outlet for a short time. And please joint a Support Group. Find someone to stay with your loved one so you can attend. You DO owe it to yourself."
On that note, I ran across a letter I received from a woman in my support group. She was a caregiver for her mother and experienced a strained family relationship. She wrote:
"Unless you have a loved one who suffers from some form of dementia, you will never know the suffering that transfers to the entire family and mostly to the caregivers. The suffering is life altering. However, the suffering is manageable when you find out you are not in this alone. Even though I could not keep my own family at peace, I became a part of another family — a wonderful, loving, compassionate, and supportive family. This family (my support group) gathers monthly to give each other the courage, strength and support to go on for another day. We learn how to break down difficult times to manageable moments. Right now, they are my closest family, we share an incredible bond."
24 comments posted