A hope-filled approach to dementia

The Rev. Anne Cox Bailey will give a free Ponder Anew Seminar from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28, at Town Hall.

In 2006, Bailey’s mother Arlene died of what turned out to be Frontotemporal Dementia, following one of the worst-case progressions she has ever encountered.

At the hands of doctors, officials and trusted friends, the ignorance, apathy, abuse and abandonment both parents and daughter suffered was far worse than the disease itself.

For the past 22 years, Bailey has studied and trained, using the knowledge to help others, serving first as interim and then as rector in parish ministries. A new call began to develop over that time, leading to a new ministry: She has pledged her life to alleviating the fear, the anguish and the ignorance that accompany most people into dementing diseases, so that others don’t have to go through the nightmare her mother and family endured.

Ponder Anew is the ministry that gives people the opportunity to rethink their attitudes about dementia. If a loved one or someone for whom you care is living with dementia, there is hope: It is possible to learn how to create moments of meaning and joy, and how to live with it in relative peace. Bailey places her training and experience at others service, to the glory of God.

For more information, call Mary Knab at 949-306-4611.