Ed. note: We are pleased that Dr. Richard Taylor has agreed to allow us to share excerpts from his newsletters.
Hello, I am Richard Taylor – a person who has been living with the symptoms of dementia for more than eight years.
I wrote a book, Alzheimer’s From the Inside Out; and I have found a new purpose for life – standing up and speaking out about my experiences and the reactions of myself and others to my symptoms of dementia.
I believe individuals living with the symptoms of one or more forms of dementia do not fade away.
We are not in the midst of “the long goodbye.”
We are living as whole and complete human being who also happen to also be living with a chronic disability.
We need support/care in ways that enable us: to live in today, to live a purposeful life, to fully enjoy a life filled with met higher level needs.
Those who care for us and those who provide us services should do so in ways that humanizes us and themselves.
We want to be safe, but not smothered. We want to be loved, and we want/need to love others – especially those who love us.
We want to be active/engaged in a community of kindred spirits. We want to be more than just busy, we want to be deeply satisfied with our activities and our lives.
We want others to know and love us as we are today, not as we were yesterday.
About Dr. Richard Taylor
Richard Taylor has been living with the symptoms of dementia for more than eight years. He is the author of Alzheimer's from the Inside Out.
