Dementia Lakes

29/11/2025

Stay cool and stay hydrated! ☀️🌡 🧊

With temperatures rising as we head into summer, people living with dementia may not always recognise when they’re thirsty - or be able to express it. This means they can become dehydrated more easily. 💧

Dehydration can:
1️⃣ Affect thinking and increase confusion
2️⃣ Irritate the bladder and worsen incontinence
3️⃣ Increase the risk of falls
4️⃣ Reduce how well medication works

Try these ideas to help keep cool and hydrated:
🥤 Offer different drinks - water, milk, hot chocolate, fruit juice
❄️ Experiment with temperatures - cold or warm drinks
🍉 Add fluids through food - jelly, soup, yoghurt, custard, watermelon, pineapple, cucumber, pears, or even jacket potatoes!

If you’re worried that the person isn’t drinking enough, contact their GP for advice.

27/11/2025

A dementia friendly home supports the wellbeing, comfort, and independence of everyone who lives in it. Small changes can make a big difference - helping daily life run more smoothly and enabling people with dementia | mate wareware to stay confident and independent for longer.

Take a look at simple ways you can make your home more dementia friendly: 👉 https://dementia.nz/making-dementia-friendly-changes-around-the-home/

25/11/2025

A diagnosis of dementia | mate wareware brings a range of changes for the person with the diagnosis and their partner / whānau and friends.

Common feelings at the time of diagnosis are shock, sadness, anger and fear, or for some people, relief at having an explanation for the changes that have been occurring. Actively coming to terms with the changes that dementia brings and the feelings associated with them is an important part of learning to live well with dementia.

Read more on what you can do to help navigate this process: https://dementia.nz/grief-and-loss/

24/11/2025

Great to see The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes (Season Two) take home Best Reality Series at the NZ Screen & Television Awards. 🏆 ⭐️

Our utmost respect and admiration to volunteers George, Innes, Janine, Kevin, Kim, Lois, Malcolm, Sandra, Tevita and Wendy. 🧡

By being open about your experiences, you’ve helped New Zealanders understand that dementia doesn’t take away who a person is while showcasing the realities of living with young onset dementia – including the impact on working lives, family routines.

A big thank you to Great Southern Film & Television and Producer Samantha Blackley for bringing the series to life, and to Chef Ben Bayly and the Origine team for the care shown throughout filming.

23/11/2025

In this intimate and uplifting documentary, Chris Hemsworth turns the spotlight toward his father, Craig, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Together they embark on a therapeutic “road trip back in time,” revisiting meaningful places and exploring the powerful science of social connection.

Their journey shows how love, community, and shared memories can be potent medicine - helping reduce dementia risk, slow cognitive decline, and strengthen wellbeing.

Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember premieres Monday, 24th November on National Geographic .

Streaming on Disney+ and Hulu .

20/11/2025

Dementia impacts more than memory – it impacts lives. 🧠

Across the Lakes, Taupō and Tūrangi regions, families turn to Dementia Lakes for free resources, education, and local community support services.

Your donation enables us to continue to provide vital services for those with dementia, their care partners, and their whānau. ❤

Make a donation: https://dementia.nz/dementia-lakes

18/11/2025

🎶 Music is more than just sound - it’s healing.

For people living with dementia | mate wareware, familiar tunes can ease anxiety, reduce agitation, and bring comfort.

Music has the power to spark memories, brighten moods, and help people connect, even when words become harder to find.

🎧 Sit back, relax, and let the memories flow.

Intro - You Should Be Dancing / AloneMassachusetsTo Love SomebodyWordsCloser Than CloseIslands In The StreamOur Love (Don't Throw It All Away) Ft. Andy GibbN...

17/11/2025

Bev Cassidy-MacKenzie’s story began with her mum, Lisa, and a pair of knitting needles 🧶.

When the two sat together making baby blankets for local hospitals, it gave her mum purpose and joy each day – for many years after her vascular dementia diagnosis. After her passing, Bev and her whānau wanted to share that same experience with others.

Together they created the Nanny Raiha Charitable Trust, providing free knitting and colouring-in packs to people living with dementia | mate wareware and their care partners across Aotearoa. Each blanket is gifted to a local maternity ward — a gesture of care from one generation to the next.

💬 “The whole knitting thing was just so positive for mum,” Bev says. “It made her happy, calm and more herself – giving her a purpose.”

👉🏼 Read the Nanny Raiha story and find out how you can request a free pack at https://dementia.nz/nanny-raiha/

16/11/2025

"Lately I’d been noticing little changes in myself - forgetting things more often, losing track of conversations, struggling to focus on simple tasks. At first, I brushed it off as stress or getting older. But when the confusion and frustration became harder to ignore, I finally talked to my G.P.

Getting checked was the best decision I made. For me, it felt like finally turning the lights on in a dark room. I still do the things I love - my church group, my clubs, my routines. Life hasn’t ended. It just looks different now."

For more information on getting a dementia diagnosis, visit https://dementia.nz/getting-a-diagnosis-of-dementia/

To connect with our local dementia support services, visit https://dementia.nz/dementia-lakes

13/11/2025

When someone you love is diagnosed with dementia | mate wareware, life changes - but love doesn’t.

It helps to remember:
❤️ They are still the same person.
❤️ They may need patience and understanding.
❤️ Laughter, music, and kindness go a long way.
❤️ Connection matters more than perfection.

Keep showing up. Keep learning. Keep loving.

Learn more about how care partners, whānau and friends can support someone with dementia: 👉 https://dementia.nz/information-for-family-and-friends/

11/11/2025

Feeling hot, hot, HOT ... you’re not the only one! ☀️🌡

With temperatures rising as we head into summer, people living with dementia may not always recognise when they’re thirsty — or be able to express it. This means they can become dehydrated more easily. 💧

Dehydration can:
1️⃣ Affect thinking and increase confusion
2️⃣ Irritate the bladder and worsen incontinence
3️⃣ Increase the risk of falls
4️⃣ Reduce how well medication works

Try these ideas to help keep cool and hydrated:
🥤 Offer different drinks - water, milk, hot chocolate, fruit juice
❄️ Experiment with temperatures - cold or warm drinks
🍉 Add fluids through food - jelly, soup, yoghurt, custard, watermelon, pineapple, cucumber, pears, or even jacket potatoes!

If you’re worried that the person isn’t drinking enough, contact their GP for advice.

Stay cool, stay kind, stay hydrated! 💙

09/11/2025

🧠 Have you booked your ticket for our next Dementia Talk – The Art of Enablement?

Join Winifred Henderson (Senior Educator, Dementia New Zealand) and explore the Art of Enablement - an empowering framework that helps people living with dementia | mate wareware stay connected, capable, and confident.

📆 Friday, 14 November 2025
⏰ 10am – 12 noon
🖥 Online via Zoom
🎟 Book here: https://dementia.nz/events/the-art-of-enablement/

Free for carers | $50 for professionals (includes Certificate of Attendance)

If you can’t attend live, you’ll receive the webinar recording