Three Sisters and Their Mom
About The Blog
A friend of mine once told me that the best way to truly face my fears was to look at them head on, and then do something that scared me. Considering that Alzheimer’s dementia has been plaguing my family for four generations in a row (that we definitively know of), starting with my great- grandmother, then my grandfather, then my mother, and now my oldest sister has tested positive for the genetic markers, one of my greatest fears was that it would descend upon me as well, and I would eventually lose my mind. When trying to decide how to face this fear I had two choices; run away and ignore it until it overtook me, or face it head on, and learn everything I could learn about the disease while helping others through their own journey with it as well.
With that in mind, I faced my fear and became a community educator for the Alzheimer’s association in 2019, as well as becoming a member of the Alzheimer’s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART). My journey with Alzheimer’s began many years prior however when I decided really on a whim that I wanted to be a nurse, and went directly into nursing school after high school. Bright eyed and full of hope for my future career, one of my first jobs as a young nurse was working with patients with dementia and mental illness on a “locked” ward in a nursing home. I went into that job with no clue as to what I was doing, and no training in working with patients with dementia whatsoever. It was scary and crazy and more difficult than you could ever imagine. It was also absolutely one of the most wonderful and beautiful things I ever did throughout my career, and I treasure it in my heart every day. I loved my patients, and they loved me back, despite them not knowing me from day to day. I feel blessed to have experienced it.
As the years have passed and I am coming up on 28 years of nursing in a variety of settings, and have worked with many many patients with various forms of dementia. My sisters too are in the medical field, one also a nurse like myself who works with elderly psych and hospice patients, and the other sister a speech language pathologist specializing in the elderly and those with dementia. All three of us are unique in that we all work with dementia patients as well as have personal family experience taking care of a person with dementia in the home. Also, we are all acutely aware of our own potential to suffer through this disease ourselves, the chances being very high that one or more of us sisters is going to have it (The oldest already having a genetic marker).
“We should really start a blog”, I said to my younger sister one day. “There are so many blogs out there that are written by caregivers, but so few that actually document a caregiver who is caring for a person with dementia, and yet also has dementia themselves, and none that ALSO are all medical persons with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field. We should document our journey through this as sisters, and write about our professional and personal experiences”!And with that, we began this blog. Our goals were to capture our journey as professionals and personal caregivers of someone with dementia, as well as our own potential journey through the disease- what better way to face my fear? ​
About the Authors
About: Joy Foster BA, MA, CCC-SLP
Joy Foster is a masters prepared speech language pathologist and trained social worker with over 21 years of directly working with older adults including adults with dementia. She specializes in dysphagia, cognitive impairment and swallowing disorders for patients with a variety of neurological disorders including TBI, stroke Parkinson’s and ALS, but with a primary focus on patients with dementia. The majority of the population of patients that she works with is age 55 and up. She is a subject matter expert in cognitive communication assessment and treatments as well as all manner of swallowing disorders. She is certified in MDTP (McNeil dysphagia training program), and vital stim therapy as well as receiving the “ACE” CEU certification award through ASHA (American speech language and hearing association). Her education includes a bachelors degree from University of Northern Colorado in sociology and family studies with a minor in gerontology and human rehabilitative services, as well as a masters degree from University of Northern Colorado in Speech language pathology. She has a “Clinical certificate of competence” (CCC-SLP) from ASHA. Her many years of working with this population gives her a wealth of interesting anecdotes and professional experiences. She currently works as an SLP in the LTC (long term care) setting. She is the oldest of “The three sisters”, and has three children of her own who are nearly all grown and gone. She lives in California with her husband, her youngest daughter and her two exuberant dogs. Her hobbies include gardening and all things DISNEY!!
​
About: Amanda Thornton, RN, BSN, MSN, CIC, VA-BC
Amanda Thornton is a masters prepared registered nurse and trained Infection Preventionist (IP) with over 28 years of experience. Amanda has worked in a variety of places in the nursing field, including many years in the settings of LTC (long term care) and LTAC (Long Term Acute Care). She has been a nursing educator for the university level for LPN and C.N.A. programs, as well as a chief clinical officer (CCO) for a large LTAC. Currently she works in a a nursing home as an Infection Preventionist, and as a Clinical Science Liaison for the infection control industry.
Amanda received her bachelors in nursing from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Co, and a master's degree in nursing with a sub-emphasis in infection control from American Sentinel University in Aurora Colorado. She obtained her certification in infection control (CIC) in 2010 from the CBIC (Certification board of infection control) which is affiliated with APIC (The association for professionals in infection control). She also holds a certification in vascular access (VA-BC) from the Vascular Access Certification Corporation (VACC).
Amanda holds the title of “Community educator” the the Alzheimer’s Association, and contributes to the education of her local community about dementia and Alzheimer’s whenever possible. She also is an active member of the Alzheimer’s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART).
Amanda’s hobbies are resin art, reading, gardening, and blogging.
​
About: Emma Parsons, BSN, RN
​
Emma Parsons is a baccalaureate prepared registered nurse who has experience in acute geriatric behavioral health, hospice and palliative care, memory care, long term care, and emergency medicine. She started her career as an emergency medical technician in 2016 and progressed on to nursing from a desire to do more for her patients. She obtained her BSN from The University of Phoenix and has additional experience demonstrating expertise in wound care and continence management. She is currently working on her board certification in neurofeedback therapy.
​
Emma's hobbies include photography, hiking, and spending quality time with her young daughter.