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Twelve Ways My Dear Husband’s Dementia Taught Me to Be a Better Consultant
June 21, 2015 Article for the MJFF (Michael J. Fox Foundation) and my blog http://www.avasbutler.com I am an organizational development consultant specializing in transformational change. I’m also the wife of my dear Richard. We’ve been happily married for almost 24...
read moreMoving to Assisted Living
January 2015 I discovered there are people who specialize in finding care facilities for your loved ones—like a real estate person for those with special needs. This is a fantastic notion and a tremendous help. Margaret Roberts came to our home to interview us and...
read moreI Want My Husband Back, But He Can’t Make It
26 December 2014 My best friend and love for 23 years has Parkinson's disease and dementia It seems long ago when we were happy and healthy Full of joy and adventure Blessed with a life of travel and good fortune Many were envious The perfect couple Smart, good...
read morePeeing Our Way to Assisted Living
9 December 2014 Things are getting worse. Richard was incontinent at night again and can’t understand that he needs to use the toilet not the floor. Damn you, Parkinson’s and dementia. We’ve had several more accidents where he has peed the floor, including three times...
read moreWhat Richard Sees: Insight into Hallucinations Associated with Lewy Body Dementia
Persistent and recurring visual hallucinations are often an early symptom of Lewy Body Dementia - LBD. This was true for my husband, Richard. Not all LBD hallucinations are fear based, but Richard’s were. His ability to communicate clearly has been impacted, and...
read moreProgress in the Wrong Direction
20 March 2013 It’s the first day of spring already. Richard has been having a bad week, feeling poorly, and having difficulty accomplishing tasks. I really need to write in my journal more. This could be a good record of his situation. We’re going to Dr. Ramsey, a...
read moreModern Medicine Failed Us and without Emotional Intelligence
April 2013 Richard and I were looking for so many ways to fight the inevitable—anything we could find to help him with his Parkinson’s and dementia. We went to the University of Arizona’s neurology department for insights. It’s a teaching hospital, so there were...
read moreThe Beginning of the End
22 March 2012 My husband has Parkinson’s disease. When our neurologist, Dr. Sullivan, first said so back in May of 2010, my first thought was, Damn, he was right. Richard is a bit of a hypochondriac and has a tendency to exaggerate. He’s thought he had bone cancer,...
read moreMeet Richard Ping
6 July 1991 On our wedding day, these were my vows to Richard: Dearest Richard. I often wondered if it was true what they said. That my expectations were unrealistic and bold. But I knew it was better to live life alone than to compromise a dream. And when I met you,...
read moreMeet the True Bad Boys
Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative neurological disorder that affects one in one hundred people over age sixty. Men have a somewhat higher risk than women. While the average age at onset is around sixty, some people are diagnosed at forty or younger. Parkinson’s is...
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