3437 - Navigating Dementia (Roy Kerfoot)
Course Description
Instructors: Roy Kerfoot
Dementia can be frightening. For many, their loved one’s affliction becomes the “Disease That Must Not Be Named”.
This course is for anyone who’s loved one has or is suspected to have one of over 100 dementia types, including Alzheimer’s.
Dementia caregiving is difficult. Caregivers are thrust into responsibilities and situations without training. They struggle with life and relationship changes that, at times, necessitate immediate response. Those responses may be complicated by denial, fear, or guilt.
This course is an introduction on how to navigate the boulder-strewn, often-hidden path of dementia caregiving. The course will describe dementia, how it differs from normal aging, and major dementia types. It will discuss what to do if dementia is suspected, why and how to get a diagnosis, and what to do with that diagnosis. It will discuss caregiver priorities and what to do in certain scenarios. Lastly, it will describe various in-home and long-term care options.
Bio: Roy Kerfoot is a retired electrical engineer. He worked for major defense contractors, Motorola, and Motorola Solutions. Roy cared for his wife, Ana, for 21 years. Ana suffered a rare form of dementia, Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), that degraded language and cognition first. Her symptoms presented in 2000. She was 47 years old and their boy/girl twins were eight years old, while Roy led a high-pressure engineering team. Ana lost language in her last 10 years and was bed-bound in her last 8 years. With the aid of an elder care law firm, Roy placed Ana in long-term care for her last 3-1/2 years. She passed in 2021, shortly after her 69th birthday. Roy leads three caregiver support groups.