.

I knew at some time she would want to move back to Sacramento, because it had been her home all her life. So when she started to fall and loose her memory, my brother, who still moves in Sacramento, decided he wanted to bring her back.

To our surprise, when we told her, my Mom said, “No. I’m not leaving.”

We didn’t know what to do.

So we did what the experts told us to do. The new facility, Somerford Place and the Dementia Whisperers said, “Don’t tell her. Just take her there.”

When my Mom went to breakfast, we packed her bags, put them in the car and, my brother showed up at the front of her facility and told her, “Mom, we are going for a ride and then have lunch. Let’s go.”

So she jumped in the car. No problem.

She had had many anxiety attacks in the past, so my brother was very nervous.

After two hours of silence, my Mom said, “Wow, this is a long ride for lunch. I hope I don’t have to go back tonight!” And she started to talk and enjoy the ride. After noticing some Sacramento signs, she asked, “Are we in Sacramento?” My brother redirected her and she was fine.
When we showed up at her new facility, my brother had lunch with Mom. While going to the bathroom, my brother left for work and my Mom came back and was just fine with the change. She really didn’t figure it out until three days later.

Now after two weeks, she is starting to get use to her new place and we are so thankful about the “experts” idea.
If we would have told her what we were going to do, she would have been shaking and having an anxiety attack and who knows what.

My brother and I felt very guilty moving her the way we did, but now we know it was for the best and was only done out of love.

~ Noreen Dahlstrom

Dear Dementia Whisperers,

First of all I just want to thank you, and secondly tell you how impressed I was with your training and presentation. You two are awesome, and as you can imagine, I received a lot of positive feedback from the care givers who attended. They were all very excited about this new information and walked away with some new gained hope.
Again, thank you so much for your knowledge, compassion and everything you do!

~ Joni Trykar
Sutter Roseville Medical Center/Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital
Community Benefits Department, Senior Services

The Dementia Whisperers came to our care home and allowed our residents the opportunity to listen to the Mood Enhancement CD’s, and all of the staff were so impressed. The CD’s sparked many memories and good feelings from long ago as the residents with various levels of dementia listened, and we could not even get through the first ten minutes without stopping and listening to the wonderful stories they brought up from everyone’s past. The familiar music and “feeling triggers” were interesting to even the most withdrawn! We recommend these CD’s to anyone actively working with or caring for a memory challenged adult.

~ The Staff at Laurel Gardens Care Home