Mazing Me: Growing Through Dementia

By Vicki Noonan

Vicki Noonan is a fighter. She is living with dementia, but she refuses to be defined by the disease. She may never escape from the maze in which she now finds herself, but that doesnt mean theres no more of the path to explore, no more lessons to learn. The disease has taught her a lot about herself and about dementia. People can live well with this disease.

In Mazing Me, Vicki shares ideas in the hope that others lost in their own mazes may find their bearings with the help of her words and her story. It is a poignant reflection on a life lived well, with laughter and with love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Aug 30, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543402636

Vicki Noonan

Vicki was an only child born in northern NSW, Australia. She accomplished her dream of becoming a teacher and taught Primary School for 35 years until she had a series of strokes. Little did she know that this would lead to a diagnosis of Early Onset Dementia when she was only 58. Teaching became impossible so Vicki became a Dementia Advocate. She has delivered many speeches, written numerous newspaper articles and done radio interviews to help people become familiar with Dementia and to encourage those diagnosed to live life to the best of their capabilities. Vicki has represented regional NSW at an Australian Alzheimer's Summit at Parliament House in Canberra and has just been nominated to carry the Queen's Baton for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Book preview

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Copyright © 2017 by Vicki Noonan. 765049

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017912277

ISBN:   Softcover   978-1-5434-0264-3

   Hardcover   978-1-5434-0265-0

   EBook      978-1-5434-0263-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 08/24/2017

Xlibris

1-800-455-039

www.xlibris.com.au

CONTENTS

MAZING ME

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT?

WHO AM I?

YES I HAVE DEMENTIA!

WHERE I AM AT NOW !

MY NEW FRIEND

HOW TO DEAL WITH Mr ANXIETY

TWO EXTRA EXTRA SPECIAL MOMENTS!

HOW TO LIVE WELL WITH DEMENTIA

SOME THINGS I DO THAT I FIND INTERESTING

SOME SONGS I FIND UPLIFTING FOR ME

THE FUTURE

A FEW SKETCHES I’VE TRIED

SOME HELPFUL APPS

SOME PHOTOS I’VE TAKEN THAT I’M PROUD OF

ROUND SCULPTURES

THE ENDING

In the last few years of my Mum’s life when she herself started living with Dementia, a subtle change came over her that took me a while to notice. She began being fascinated by butterflies. They became important to her and I suddenly realised that she began purchasing various forms of butterflies – from bright sparkling ones to solar light butterflies planted in her garden. She stuck butterflies all over her house. This in turn made me more aware of butterflies in our environment and I too formed a love for them. Now that she is no longer with me butterflies have taken on a whole new significance.

Vicki

butterfly.tif

Flutter Flutter butterflies

Come visit and sit with me awhile

Show me your colours and I’ll tell you my worries

Then feel free to fly away from me

Take my thoughts and let them go

When the wind does blow

They will be dispersed and I will feel free

After your visits with me

Flittering and fluttering under the warm sun

They remind me of my wonderful Mum

And I say hello to her each time I see one.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vicki Noonan was born in northern New South Wales in the small town of Murwillumbah. As her mother was unable to have more children Vicki was an only child. She lived in Coff’s Harbour, Sydney and Melbourne as a child following her father’s employment.

From the age of three all Vicki ever wanted to do was to become a teacher and she never wavered from that idea. She taught at numerous schools in Melbourne - Monash Primary, Bulleen and Lalor East Primary schools. She had been very sporty as a teen playing netball, table tennis, softball, basketball, squash, tennis and loved cricket often taking days off high school to watch the Sheffield Shield teams at the MCG. As an adult Vicki coached a number of sporting teams including softball, a women’s netball team, tennis and a ladies indoor cricket team. She also played in a mixed Men and Women’s indoor cricket team. One of her favourite passions was doing voluntary work after school at a special school with children with both physical and mental disabilities - teaching physical fitness and gym work.

Once Vicki married, children were on the agenda but this was not as easy as hoped. It did take 5 years and she finally had two wonderful boys. Time was happily spent raising her children. She started up a playgroup for other Mum’s and bubs in the local area where she organised art and craft activities. She also volunteered teaching at the local primary school at Bulleen after she developed a physical education program for Prep (first year students)

The family decided to move back to Northern N.S.W. to be close to Vicki’s mother, the only surviving grandparent. Vicki began casual teaching at seven schools in the area before finally working at Kingscliff Primary. Here she taught all grades as well as introducing A.F.L.(Aussie Rules football) to the senior students which was a new sport for the school. They eventually won a premiership after many years. Vicki taught here until she suffered three strokes. She was heartbroken that she had to give up teaching. However, she did teach long distance education to behavioural problem students for three years until things became too difficult for her.

Things became quite problematic for Vicki at this time as her beloved mother was diagnosed with Dementia. She was in her eighties and Vicki did what she could but things were to get worse. A year later Vicki’s mother was diagnosed with the fastest growing form of Melanoma. She had eight months to live and during this time they both lived life to the fullest and had plenty of time to tell each other how much they loved one another. This was important to both of them because sometimes people don’t get the opportunity to do this.

It was not long after, that Vicki herself was diagnosed with Dementia. Many things happened fairly quickly at this time. Vicki and her husband Graeme became Dementia Advocates and gave numerous talks at The Tweed Civic Centre, The Tweed Community Centre and Twin Towns Services Club - representing both the Tweed and South-east Queensland. They were both selected to represent Regional New South Wales at the Australian Alzheimer’s Australia Consumer Summit in 2015 in Canberra at Parliament House. Here they worked on a document, with other representatives and Members of Parliament, on how to deal with this growing Dementia problem and the finances needed. As this led to them being invited to Government House to meet the Australian Governor General, Sir Peter Cosgrove and Lady Cosgrove, Graeme was heard to say Thank God you’ve got Dementia! Humour was intended and it was taken as such with this quote becoming the quote of the summit.

Vicki is a member of the Steering Committee to help the Tweed become a Dementia friendly community and is also a member of The Dementia Advisory Group. She has just been nominated to carry the baton in the Queen’s Baton Relay for the upcoming Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018.

This book is

dedicated to my wonderful, caring husband Graeme and to my two beautiful, thoughtful sons of which I am so proud, David and James. Thanks for all of the fun times we have shared and still share.

Remember I will never leave you because my heart is evergreen

FOREWORD

When my mother told me of her diagnosis – Early Onset Dementia, at the age of 58 – I feared for the loss of many things: not just her memory, but of what had come to define our relationship – the closeness, the familiarity, the constant confiding in one another, the laughter. I thought this meant the end of all that. I didn’t realise – I couldn’t comprehend – at the time that it would mark the beginning of something great, a