Ruth and Maggie’s Story

In this episode, Pat Shanahan speaks with Maggie Perquin.  Maggie retired early from teaching to become the carer for her wife Ruth who have been together for 27 years, married for 15 of those and between them they have 15 grandchildren.  Ruth, also a retired teacher, had been struggling with cognitive issues for about 8 years when she was finally diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2018.  Following the diagnosis, Ruth and Maggie connected with the Alzheimer Society Southwestern Partners.  While they were well received as a same-sex couple, they realized they were the only out participants in their group. Maggie approached the Alzheimer Society to consider starting a group to support 2SLGBTQ clients and caregivers.  The first two sessions of the group had carers of 16 Alzheimer clients.  Maggie has invited any listeners who might be interested in contacting her by email at l [email protected] Resources: Ruth and Maggie share their story in this video. https://on.alz.to/site/SPageNavigator/ASLM/2021/Cabin_Fever/ASLM_Cabin_Fever_2021.html;jsessionid=00000000.app20058b?NONCE_TOKEN=F25504F441FB0A8DA0A27C9905683678 Dementia as an Animal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynAXxAO4pws Alzheimer Society Southwest  Partners https://alzswp.ca/ Ontario Alzheimer Society https://alzheimer.ca/on/en National Institute on Aging /Egale Canada https://2slgbtqi-aging.ca/tag/dementia/