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Your Brain on Mom

Your Brain on Mom

Written by: Aflalo Communications Inc.
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Your Brain on Mom, sibling co-hosts open up about the unexpected beginning of their mother’s dementia journey — a journey that didn’t start with obvious memory loss, but with a broken ankle. What followed were strange behaviors, unexplained shifts, and subtle cognitive changes that signaled something deeper was happening. As a brother-and-sister caregiver team, we share the real-life dementia storyof how we first encountered our mom’s cognitive decline. From unusual reactions in the hospital to confusing days at home, we walk through the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease and how they can appear differently than you might expect. We also discuss the differences between dementia vs. Alzheimer’s and how confusing it is to understand the distinction. This podcast highlights the emotional side of becoming sibling caregivers — the frustration, the gut instinct, and the bond that forms when adult children team up to care for a parent. We also share how we use humor as a survival tool, because sometimes the only way through the fear and confusion of the progression of Alzheimer’s disease is to laugh together. By telling our caregiving story, we hope to normalize the chaos, confusion, and unexpected moments that caregivers face, and to create a space where others feel seen. We explain why we decided to start this podcast — to document the earliest moments of our journey and to give a voice to other sibling caregiversnavigating similar paths. Whether you’re researching dementia vs. Alzheimer’s, searching for early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, curious about sibling caregivers, or looking for real-life dementia stories to relate to, this podcast offers a candid, relatable, and hopeful look at the very beginning of the caregiving journey. Produced by Aflalo Communications Inc. (www.aflalo.com)2026. Aflalo Communications Inc. Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • Back in the Nursing Home: Now What? Navigating Dementia Care, Medication Changes, and a Healthcare System No One Explains

    Back in the Nursing Home: Now What? Navigating Dementia Care, Medication Changes, and a Healthcare System No One Explains
    May 19 2026
    This Is Your Brain on Mom picks up right where the chaos left off: Mom is back at the nursing home after a month in the hospital — restrained, overmedicated, medically cleared, psychiatrically cleared… and somehow still stuck in the middle of a system that no one seems able to explain. In this episode, Wendy and Barry unpack the exhausting reality of dementia care when doctors, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and families are all speaking different languages. From endless medication changes to unanswered questions, they share the frustration of trying to advocate for someone you love while navigating a healthcare system that often feels reactive instead of supportive. Through stories about Mom yelling at Murder, She Wrote, arguing with The Price Is Right, and terrifying nurses with her volume level, this episode balances heartbreak, frustration, and humor in the way only real caregivers can. If you’re supporting a parent with Alzheimer’s, dementia, or cognitive decline — or trying to navigate nursing homes, hospitals, and impossible decisions — this episode will remind you that you are not alone. Produced by Aflalo Communications Inc. (www.aflalo.com) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    35 mins
  • Dementia Caregiving, Estate Planning & End-of-Life Conversations: What Families Need to Know

    Dementia Caregiving, Estate Planning & End-of-Life Conversations: What Families Need to Know
    May 12 2026
    What happens when the person who helps families plan for death becomes a dementia caregiver herself? In this episode of This Is Your Brain on Mom, Wendy and Barry speak with Canadian funeral director, educator, and author Minnelle Williams, founder of Ending Well with Minnelle Ending Well with Minnelle. What starts as a conversation about funeral planning quickly becomes deeply personal when Minnelle’s father is diagnosed with dementia—shifting everything she thought she knew about being “prepared.” Suddenly, estate planning isn’t theoretical. Advance directives aren’t paperwork. And end-of-life conversations aren’t optional—they’re urgent. Minnelle shares how her lived experience reshaped her work, leading her to focus on helping families navigate end-of-life planning with more clarity, less fear, and earlier conversations. She also discusses her book Plan Well. Live Well, a practical guide to documenting wishes and reducing crisis-driven decision-making. This is a conversation about what no one prepares you for—not just death, but the long emotional road leading up to it. If you’re caring for a loved one with dementia or trying to make sense of caregiving decisions before crisis hits, this episode will change how you think about planning. 🎧 Listen now and subscribe to This Is Your Brain on Mom for honest conversations about dementia, caregiving, grief, and the reality families live every day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    52 mins
  • When Dementia Changes the Person You Know | Mixed Dementia & Caregiver Grief

    When Dementia Changes the Person You Know | Mixed Dementia & Caregiver Grief
    May 5 2026
    In this episode of This Is Your Brain on Mom, Wendy and Barry talk about one of the hardest parts of dementia caregiving: the moment your parent still recognizes you, but you no longer fully recognize them. After their mother’s diagnosis shifted from Alzheimer’s disease to mixed dementia — including Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) and vascular dementia — they began facing personality changes, emotional outbursts, constant yelling, and the painful reality that dementia affects far more than memory. The siblings open up about caregiver guilt, hospital life, behavioral changes, and the complicated emotions that come with trying to stay connected to someone who feels different every day. Raw, funny, heartbreaking, and painfully honest, this episode captures the reality of living with dementia as a family — beyond the movie version people expect. This Is Your Brain on Mom is a podcast about dementia caregiving, family dynamics, advocacy, humor, and surviving the chaos of caring for a parent with cognitive decline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    49 mins
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