Taking care of a sick husband with Lewy Body Dementia, Nancy Martin had to deal with a lot.
So others won’t feel alone while caring for a loved one, Martin created a support group for those dealing with the same issues. One of the group's main goals, she said, is to listen.
“I do have a listening ear for people who are going through a life journey with many different hiccups along the way,” she said.
Martin created the M’Aiken A Difference Lewy Body Dementia Association Support Group as a way for others who have dealt with the disease to come together. Martin started the support group after her husband died in 2019.
The group meets on the second Thursday of the month at the Lessie B. Price Senior Life and Youth Center.
Martin said the purpose of the group is to provide community awareness and support for caregivers through educational resources and fellowship.
Lewy Body Dementia is a brain disease characterized by a spectrum of symptoms involving disturbances of movement, cognition, behavior, sleep and autonomic function.
Dementia with lewy bodies and Parkinson’s disease are two clinical disorders that make up Lewy Body Dementia.
The disease is the second most common form of degenerative dementia in the elderly next to Alzheimer’s disease.
It's estimated that about 1.4 million people in the U.S. are currently affected by Lewy Body Dementia. It is usually misdiagnosed as another form of dementia.
Martin said her husband was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia and Parkison’s disease in 2013.
“If I went out in the yard, he didn’t want me out of his sight,” Martin said. “He would get all upset and fall.”
In addition to having a support group, she also provides resources for people in the community, such as medical professional contacts and Lewy Line for people to call if they need assistance.
She is a trained Lewy Body Dementia counselor and provides assistance to those who need help.
“When someone has something on their heart, I use my training over the years if I need to refer them somewhere that can be done to,” Martin said.
She said the meetings are informal and people come when they are able to come.
“Even though it's a long goodbye it is still hard and it takes a while to get back into the groove of things after being a caregiver,” she said.
She said sometimes she meets people for coffee and to give people a chance to share their story.
Martin said her faith, the community and the support group helped her during her husband's illness.
She said with Aiken's older population, having groups like the support group are needed.
Martin said there are plans in the future to have an event focusing on the education of the disease and will have monthly meetings, programs and roundtables. She hopes she can be of service to the community because they helped her during a difficult time.
Martin said the group is still helping her to this day.
"It's healing for me," she said.
