Personal perspective of the mosaic of living with dementia

This article is based on a keynote presentation given to the national Spiritual Care Australia Conference in 2017, which had the theme “Engaging a Mosaic of Care”. As a person diagnosed with dementia, it gives a viewpoint from within the confusing mosaic of living with dementia, in which a sense of spirituality at the core of our being can prompt a search for ultimate meaning in life, through relationships with God and with others. This article is a Christian theological reflection, from the unique perspective of the lived experience. Spirituality does not need cognition or language, and the person can be ministered to with sensitivity. Each person with dementia is a unique individual with hopes, dreams and emotions, even if these cannot be expressed, and has been on a journey from diagnosis towards an increasingly confusing mosaic of sights, sounds and feelings. Chaplains can be our faithful companions on this journey of decline and despair.