Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Making Sense of It When Someone You Love Is Affected
Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Making Sense of It When Someone You Love Is Affected
Senior PrimeTime — Episode 7, Part 2
By the Senior PrimeTime Team
Understanding a medical term is one thing. Understanding what it means for someone you love can feel very different.
When Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia touches a family, questions often come with worry, uncertainty, and emotion. You want to understand what is happening, but you also want to know that someone understands what you’re going through.
In Part 2 of Senior PrimeTime Episode 7, host Bonnie Keith continues the conversation with Sivana Lavine Waller, MPH, and geriatric care manager Ronda Wilkin. Together, they bring professional insight and personal perspective to a subject that can feel overwhelming.
Making a complicated subject easier to understand
Conversations about dementia don’t have to feel clinical or intimidating. Sometimes what we need most is a clear explanation, an opportunity to ask questions, and someone willing to listen.
This episode continues the discussion in everyday language, keeping the people affected—and those who love them—at the center.
Whether you’re concerned about your own memory, supporting a parent, or caring for a partner, understanding more can help you begin conversations with your family and the professionals you turn to for guidance.
Why this conversation is personal
For Bonnie, this subject reaches far beyond her role as host.
Her experience navigating the dementia rollercoaster with her husband Paul brings the realities of caregiving, love, and loss into the conversation. Behind every question about dementia, there may be a spouse trying to make sense of changes, an adult child searching for support, or a family struggling with uncertainty.
Sharing these experiences creates room for feelings that can be difficult to express. Confusion, sadness, frustration, and love can exist together. Having questions doesn’t mean you’re failing someone you care about.
The person behind the changes
One of the most meaningful reasons to talk openly about dementia is to keep sight of the person at the heart of it.
A loved one is more than a diagnosis. They have a history, relationships, preferences, and a lifetime of experiences. Families also bring their own stories and emotions to the situation.
Making sense of dementia means making room for that human reality alongside the information.
Meet our guests
Sivana Lavine Waller, MPH, joins us from the Alzheimer’s Association, California Southland Chapter. She brings knowledge of Alzheimer’s and the resources available to support individuals and their loved ones.
Ronda Wilkin, RCFE, APR, CDP, CADDCT, is a geriatric care manager who brings a practical perspective on the needs of older adults and the concerns families face.
Together with Bonnie, they offer a conversation grounded in compassion and a desire to help listeners feel more informed and less alone.
Listen to Part 2
You don’t have to have all the answers before beginning a conversation about dementia. Listening, asking questions, and sharing concerns can be a place to start.
Find Episode 7, Part 2 at:
https://www.seniorprimetimepodcast.com
If you missed Part 1, you can also find our earlier conversation about brain health, memory changes, and the difference between Alzheimer’s and dementia.
About Senior PrimeTime
Bonnie Keith is the Host and Creative Visual Director of Senior PrimeTime, bringing professional perspectives and personal experiences together in honest conversations about aging.
Senior PrimeTime is brought to you by the Foundation for Senior Services. Through Age Well Academy and resources from vetted senior services specialists, the Foundation helps older adults and families connect with information and support.
Share this conversation with someone who could use a little more understanding—and a reminder that they are not alone.
Senior PrimeTime. Real people, real conversations.