HOPE support groups are a vital resource for carrying out our mission to provide support, education, and advocacy to individuals caring for people with all types of dementia. We have an incredible group of faithful support group facilitators who volunteer their time to create compassionate environments for dementia care partners and their loved ones.
Care giving is isolating enough as it is, and our shared pandemic reality has presented new challenges and highlighted how necessary it is to continue showing up for our community. This month HOPE is highlighting some of the people who make this work possible.
Carol Becker is the first born of three children, one sister and brother, and grew up in Northern Idaho for a good portion of her life. She was always a curious kid, exploring how to build and engineer things from a young age. Carol originally planned to become a secretary as that was one of the few mainstream career paths open to women in the 1960s. However, she ended up taking drafting at her local college and eventually attended the University of Colorado at Boulder for Mechanical Engineering. She became the first female Manufacturing Engineer at the company for which she worked.
When it comes to supporting individuals diagnosed with dementia, Carol brings a unique perspective. In 1985, she suffered from viral encephalitis, rendering her comatose. Subsequently, she experienced the loss of her vocabulary processing and procedural function memory. Over the years, she has worked hard to regain her cognitive function.
Just over two years ago, Carol moved to Vancouver and began facilitating a HOPE dementia support group. Before that, she lived in Tempe, Arizona, where she also volunteered as facilitator for the Sun Lakes Alzheimer’s Association support group. At that time, her group consisted of individuals who were living with their own dementia diagnosis. Her ability to empathize with those living with dementia propels her passion and interest in understanding and serving those affected by dementia related diseases. “I really kind of understand how they feel – how scared they are about not knowing how to do things they damn well know they used to know how to do or understand,” Carol shared.
Six months prior to the shutdown, due to COVID, Carol led in-person HOPE support groups at Salmon Creek Hampton Memory Care, on Tuesday mornings. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, she continues to show up for her group and their weekly Zoom meetings. Reflecting on how the groups have impacted her on a personal level, she says that while she already possessed a certain level of understanding the perspective of the individual with dementia, supporting caregivers has given her a deeper
understanding of the “agonies of being a support person, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year; it’s like being in a never ending improv group. [The caregiver] is always encountering a new behavior, new everything, and having to learn how to integrate it into everyday life.”
When asked what things bring her joy, Carol replied, “Oh gosh! There are so many!”. Her Snowshoe Siamese kitty, Julie, dark chocolate, a good gin & tonic, and being able to help “people understand themselves and feel better about who they are,” top the list of things Carol noted.
Carol Becker is an integral part of HOPE and we are grateful for all the ways in which she shows up to propel us forward in our mission to serve those with dementia and their care partners in our community.
