After Brenda’s husband passed away, her children reached out to Growing Options for help with Brenda’s care. Brenda had an early stage of dementia, which allowed her to stay in her home independently for the time being, but her children worried about her living alone, especially since they all lived a few hours away and weren’t able to help with her day-to-day needs. Our care manager met with Brenda for an initial assessment of her situation, making sure that Brenda knew we were working towards her aging goals and preferred lifestyle. After reviewing Brenda’s daily routines and abilities, our care manager noted that Brenda wasn’t involved in many social activities. Brenda had been part of a few different groups when her husband was alive but had stopped attending since his death, finding it too painful to go alone to something she had always done with him. At the same time, Brenda was feeling a little lost in finding activities to fill her days. She wasn’t used to coming up with things that she could do alone.
The care manager wanted to help Brenda’s social and emotional health, so she talked to Brenda about finding a new hobby. “Taking a class on a new subject or skill that you want to learn could be a good start,” the care manager suggested. They talked about Brenda’s interests and decided that a creative skill class would be best. The care manager did some research and came up with a short list of local craft-related classes. Brenda chose to take a quilting class.
At the first class, Brenda was pleasantly surprised to find that there were people from every age group attending. She had worried that she was starting something new too late and would be much older than the others in the class. The classes introduced Brenda to a new group of people who shared an interest with her. She enjoyed getting to know her fellow classmates as they worked together on projects and encouraged each other’s progress. Once the class was over, Brenda continued to quilt at home, but found herself slowly losing motivation over time, since it felt like she was just using quilting to fill her time with no end goal. She spoke to the care manager about how she felt. The care manager suggested that Brenda work on a quilt to enter into next year’s state fair.
With a new goal to work towards, Brenda worked on her quilting skills with a new energy. Her children noticed a change in her attitude when they visited or spoke to her on the phone. Brenda’s attention span during conversations had improved was getting better when they talked to her on the phone and she sounded happier, especially when she talked about the latest quilting technique or project she was working on. When the state fair finally came around, Brenda had a beautiful quilt that she proudly entered.
Learning a new skill helped Brenda find a fulfilling activity that engaged her creative skills while improving her social life and boosting her self-confidence. Reach out to Growing Options to find out how we can help you or your aging loved ones thrive in the face of aging challenges like we helped Brenda!