Commun ty Matters Arkansas City Presbyterian Manor
February 2017
Choosing sides Recently, I have been thinking about Abraham Lincoln and the dark days of the civil war. During this time, someone Wayne Rector expressed to him that “the Lord would be on our side,” and he replied, “I am not concerned about that, for I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right, but it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and the nation should be on the Lord’s side.” It is easy to slip into the habit of going ahead on our own in life, hoping that the Lord will be on our side. Following God’s will is not always easy, but if we remember that He is our guide and that He wants only what is best for us, then we will be able to accept and live in His will. SIDES, continued on page 4
Why the arts are key to dementia care This form of communication can engage intuition and imagination By Anne Basting for Next Avenue
When you receive a serious medical diagnosis, it can feel as though that diagnosis replaces your identity. I am no longer myself — instead, now I am cancer, or a heart attack or dementia. But even when we carry a diagnosis, we also continue to live our lives. We are more than our diseases and care plans. People can live as long as 20 years with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Family and professional caregivers, as well as community members, need tools to ensure that people with Alzheimer’s can be more than their disease. But how? Conversation can be challenging, in person and by phone. How can we stay connected and foster what has come to be called the “personhood” of someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s? The answer is: the arts. A symbolic and emotional communication system, the arts don’t rely on linear memory and rational language. Rather, the arts engage our intuition and imagination. Their building blocks for expression are movement, gesture, words, patterns, sounds, ARTS, continued on page 3