Well I Know Now with Pippa Kelly

About Well I Know Now with Pippa Kelly

Well I Know Now with Pippa Kelly is a podcast in which she and her guests discuss what their dementia experiences have taught them. From profound life lessons to the importance of professionals who truly understand and the joy to be found in the smallest things. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Pippa Kelly

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Jun 2020

Latest episode

10 Apr 2024

Latest episodes

56 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   10 Apr 2024

   Suzy Webster

   Suzy Webster is very special. She’s a mother, daughter, wife, and for many years carer to her mum, Barbara. In 2012, after Barbara developed dementia, she and Suzy’s dad, Gordon, came to live with Suzy and her family in Chepstow. When I first met Suzy over a decade ago, I was struck by her quiet determination, her love for her family and her wonderful way with words. I can still remember her telling a conference that her parents had moved in with her and her family so that they could have “the dementia adventure together”. So simply put. Yet behind the phrase lay the endless reserves of love and courage that those of us who have followed Suzy and her mum’s story have witnessed over the years. This is Suzy’s third appearance on Well I Know Now and there is a sadness to this episode and a reason why Suzy is joining me once again. For late in 2022, having weathered the dangerous and turbulent years of the pandemic, Barbara died aged 75. Her death has, inevitably, left a massive void in her daughter’s life. “Who am I now? What do we do without her? I began to grieve more than one mum; I missed holding her hand – as a little girl on the school run, as my go-to person in my young adult life, and her warmth as the constant presence in our lives as her dementia progressed,” Suzy told me. Adding, “Does that make sense?” It absolutely does, Suzy. And I’m sure it will resonate with many listeners. The death of a mother, a mum, touches places deep inside us, exposing emotions we didn’t even know existed – at least that’s what I found, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. In fact, whenever I talk to Suzy I know that I’m with someone who really understands, who knows what I went through with my mum, and I think this is why Suzy has proved such a popular guest. Others feel this too. Suzy and I are here today to talk about her loss, but also her future, her hopes and plans as she enters a new chapter of her life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   3 Apr 2024

   Kitty Norton

   Kitty Norton describes herself as a former “just about everything – from non-profits arts administrator to cabaret performer to post-production professional to crappiest daughter of the year award-winner for more than forty years”. She forfeited that last accolade when, six years after her mum was diagnosed with vascular dementia, and following the sudden death of her dad, she gave up her job with NBC in Los Angeles to move back to Oregon so that she and her sister could provide their mum with the best possible dementia care. To get her through this unplanned turn in her career, Kitty started a blog called Stumped Town Dementia. The blog brought her a temporary escape from dementia as well as countless virtual caregiver friends from all over the world who supported her with their understanding comments, emails and Zoom dates. When her mum died in 2021, Kitty decided she wanted to meet the virtual friends who had become so very important to her as she cared for her mum and, in her words, “Sit out on a summer’s night, open a couple of bottles of wine, and find healing in the camaraderie of a fellow dementia caregiver”. She then went and did just that. The result is an incredible 90 minute film charting the 75 hundred miles and 27 states that Kitty covered in 26 days. Wine, Women and Dementia has already been garlanded with awards. It’s produced by some serious professionals and features caregivers Kitty encountered through her blog, including former Well I Know Now guest and host of Daughterhood, the Podcast, Rosanne Corcoran. Like Stumped Town Dementia, Wine, Women and Dementia pulls no punches. Its protagonists, the caregivers, are strong, articulate women with fire (and possibly the odd drop of rose or Californian white) in their belly. It’s a rollicking, funny, sad, informative, supportive must-watch for all family caregivers, for policy makers and anyone remotely interested in dementia – or perhaps, simply for everyone. You can find information on when Kitty’s film will be available here in the UK at the website https://www.winewomenanddementia.com/ (https://www.winewomenanddementia.com/) and you can find her blog at https://www.stumpedtowndementia.com/ (https://www.stumpedtowndementia.com/) Wine, Women and Dementia will be available online in support of Dementia Action Week, May 13-19. Registration is free or, if you are able to support the film's continued outreach to family carers, a donation would be very welcome. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   8 Nov 2023

   RIP Tony Husband

   This episode is dedicated to Tony Husband, who appeared on my show not once, but twice – which, in itself, is testament to the man’s generosity of spirit and dedication to raising awareness of dementia. After Tony and I had recorded our first podcast, I said that, for me, Tony was all about creativity, humour and love, and I’d stand by that. “Life,” Tony once said, “is about laughing”. For the prolific cartoonist, that was absolutely true. He used his dark humour to investigate life’s paradoxes and frustrations, making the complex business of living seem simple. Through a few carefully chosen lines, Tony summoned up the most profound human experiences, including what it means to live with dementia. And, when his own dad succumbed to vascular dementia in 2011, he brought his considerable skills to bear on this most cruel of diseases. One night, after his dad’s death, Tony began to talk to him in his studio as if he were still there, asking Ron what it had been like to live with the condition. He recorded the conversation in cartoons on A4 paper which were later turned into his book, Take Care Son – the last words his dad ever spoke to him. Tony’s was a phenomenal talent and he used it to its full and to the very end. He died on his way to a leaving lunch at Private Eye, the satirical magazine for which he drew his famous Yobs strip for 37 years. I think Tony would have enjoyed the irony in this and definitely made a cartoon out of it. With me to talk about Tony, his kindness, compassion, wisdom and wit, is dementia campaigner and founder of Exeter's Dementia Action Alliance, Gina Awad. Gina knew Tony far better than I did; she collaborated with him for many years on different dementia projects including the Shining a Light on Dementia calendars and the book, United: Caring for Our Loved Ones Living with Dementia. Tony's friend, the poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan has also contributed, as has Tony's son Paul, and I will leave the last word to Paul: "My dad made people who are struggling start smiling again, and I'm proud of him". Tony and Gina's book, United: Caring for Our Loved Ones Living with Dementia is available on Amazon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings