REPLAY: Gincy Heins Untangles Living with a Spouse's Mild Cognitive Impairment

About Gincy Heins Gincy Heins became caregiver to her husband at the age of 49 when he was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, also known as MCI, a neurological condition that causes a slight but noticeable and measurable decline in cognitive abilities. Memory and thinking skills are primarily affected, and there is a very real possibility of future Alzheimer’s or another dementia. At the time, he was just 55. At first disbelieving that such a diagnosis could befall them so early in life, Gincy set out to learn all she could about the condition and sought support through her local Alzheimer’s Association. She soon became the expert on her husband’s diagnosis and began advocacy work to help others on the dementia journey. This included creating and publishing the book Before the Diagnosis: Stories of Life and Love Before Dementia and becoming one of the co-authors of the series 365 Caregiving Tips: Practical Tips from Everyday Caregivers. She's a member of the AlzAuthors management team as an acquisitions editor and finance consultant. Gincy is an advocate for a full, enriched life and keeps busy with a variety of activities and interests. She teaches classes for older adults at a community college, is a Senior Commissioner for Cypress, California, speaks at conferences and on panel discussions, and volunteers at her public library and with Alzheimer’s Orange County. Gincy is a vibrant, uplifting speaker with a hopeful message and a smart approach to life with cognitive difficulties. In this episode we discuss how she and her husband grew to accept a diagnosis that typically affects older people, and the power of positivity and active engagement in the face of MCI. After the podcast Watch now! Gincy appeared in AlzAuthorsLive! Love Stories: Keeping Romance Alive in Dementia Care Read Gincy’s AlzAuthors posts: Anthology, Before the Diagnosis, from Gincy Heins: Captures Lives Prior to Dementia 365 Caregiving Tips Series Offers Helpful Information for Carers Everywhere Start reading Gincy's Books: Before the Diagnosis: Stories of Life and Love Before Dementia Before the Diagnosis: More Stories of Life and Love Before Dementia 365 Caregiving Tips: Practical Tips from Everyday Caregiver Note: We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales. Connect with Gincy Instagram: @gincyheins Twitter: @GincyHeins Facebook: @G-j Heins About the Podcast AlzAuthors is the global community of authors writing about Alzheimer's and dementia from personal experience to light the way for others. Our podcast introduces you to our authors who share their stories and insights to provide knowledge, comfort, and support. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you, please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends on their own dementia journeys. We are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more. Our ongoing work supports our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please visit https://alzauthors.com/donate/ . Thank you for listening. We are a WCN Featured Podcast. Proud to be on The Health Podcast Network. Want to be on the podcast? Here’s what you need to know. Thanks for listening. AlzAuthors.com Shop our Store  

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Welcome to the AlzAuthors podcast! We’re so glad you found us. We're the global community of authors writing about Alzheimer's and dementia from personal experience to light the way for others. Join us as one of our authors shares their dementia journey, revealing intimate details and painfully obtained knowledge to help others currently on this path. We hope our stories offer comfort and support as we strive to break the silence and stigma surrounding a dementia diagnosis. May one of our authors speak to your experience. For more info please visit https://alzauthors.com. Featuring Marianne Sciucco, RN Podcast producer and host Marianne Sciucco is a co-founder and director at AlzAuthors and a registered nurse who cared for hundreds of dementia patients over a 20-year career. She provided care to her stepfather during his dementia journey and witnessed the painful decline of four beloved aunts to the disease. Her novel, "Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s love story," is based on a couple she met through her work and is a testament to the power of love in the face of this heart-wrenching disease. Learn more about Marianne at AlzAuthors.com. Purchase "Blue Hydrangeas" Featuring Christy Byrne Yates, M.S., LEP Christy is a Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP), retired school psychologist, author, speaker and coach/consultant. Her book, “Building a Legacy of Love: Thriving in the Sandwich Generation” recounts her journey as a working mother of two who also managed the care of her parents, both of whom had some form of dementia. Combining her lived experience with her professional expertise in human development, wellness and a strengths based approach to finding solutions, Christy develops content, workshops and coaching to support Sandwiched families. She incorporates meditation, mindfulness and other evidence based mind/body practices into her work. She’s worked with care communities, financial professionals, estate planners and employers. Christy has a master’s degree in counseling psychology, and graduate credentials in both education and school psychology. Learn more about Christy at AlzAuthors.com. AlzAuthors is an Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small commission on book sales at no cost to you.