Book 2 is Here!

Content Courtesy of the Forever Young Podcast with Christiana Egi and Cherrie-Marie Chiu.

Our very own, Christiana Egi has released her second book Unmasking Grandpa: A Journey Through Vascular Dementia!

We are so fortunate to celebrate the launch of her second book and chat more about Dementia, one of the most misunderstood diseases, on our most recent episode of the Forever Young podcast. Listen to the full podcast to hear more about Christiana’s second book and what drove her to write her book series to create more awareness on Dementia.

Please join us in celebrating Christiana in reaching yet another milestone in her authoring journey.

Christiana states, dementia is not actually a disease, but symptoms caused by brain disorders, which lead to a decline in cognitive abilities, thinking, and remembering. It also makes it harder for one to execute functions of daily living.  

Christiana runs retirement facilities in Toronto for people with dementia. Her journey started on the crisis unit at one of Canada's largest psychiatric hospitals in Toronto. It broke her heart to see the conditions in which the patients will come back to the hospital because of the poor living conditions and lack of community support.

After the birth of her third child, Alexis, Christiana and her husband decided to dive into the opportunity to create a home where she could make a difference - and that was how Alexis Lodge was born.  Instead of going to a strictly mental health facility, Christiana wanted to work with elderly people with dementia, to create a home that made life as normal as possible and gave them the opportunity to succeed more.

Alexis Lodge Retirement Home, located in Scarborough, Ontario

Christiana has spent the past 23 years working hard to impact the lives of people that are living with dementia and their families in positive ways. The dementia journey is a tough one, and it is devastating to see a loved one in this condition. In the early stages of the disease, individuals with dementia go through the pain of forgetting and losing control. This means even forgetting family members, loved ones, or even pets. Towards the end of the disease, the families or loved ones can become even more distraught when they no longer remember. This is a time period where a lot of family members withdraw, but Christiana encourages families to come together. 

Christiana's main aim is to raise awareness of the epidemic that is dementia. She believes if "you teach a child the way to go, they will not depart from it." Children are our future, and what better place to start than by educating the next generation to do better than those of the past? We need to teach our children from very early on to respect and be inclusive and accommodating towards all people, and that is what Christiana aims to do with her book series.

Dementia is difficult to diagnose.  It can be hard to recognize immediately and also hard to pinpoint how and when the process starts. So dementia is not a normal part of aging, and it can affect anyone at any age. The more informed we are, the better it will be for us to be able to help others. As Christiana mentioned, dementia is not a disease, but actually a group of symptoms that affects thinking behaviors and the ability to perform everyday tasks. 

There are several types of dementia. The three common types are Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and mixed dementia. 

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia and accounts for about 60-80% of all dementia cases. Christiana's first book, A Rose for Grandma, centered around Alzheimer's disease. Read more about it here. The second most common type of dementia is Vascular Dementia, which is what Unmasking Grandpa focuses on. Vascular Dementia is mostly caused by damage to the brain due to impaired blood circulation from diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, strokes, and high cholesterol. With vascular dementia, if you are able to keep your blood pressure normal and your blood sugar regulated, having a healthy lifestyle can help prevent the disease. As well as managing stress, not drinking or smoking heavily can help maintain or prevent developing these chronic illnesses that can lead to vascular dementia. Most people from the black African, black Caribbean, and South Asian ethnic groups actually have a higher risk of developing vascular dementia. Mixed dementia is when there is the presence of, for instance,  Alzheimer's and vascular dementia, then you are suffering from mixed dementia. Incidentally, Christiana's third book, which is Dancing with Memories will be touching on that.

Taking care of yourself is important. And if you have not already listened to our episodes on gut health and brain health, please do so because we have much more information there that will help you start living a healthy lifestyle.

Dementia is a very difficult disease, and people that are suffering from dementia have a hard time going through the process. Christiana urges us all to support them, and treat them like humans because they still deserve to be treated with love, respect, and dignity. They may not be able to perform things the way they used to, they may need help to do simple tasks - We all need to learn, whether you are taking care of your loved one at home, or whether they are in a facility, that you give them that structure and level of consistency.

Being able to support them through our awareness and inclusion goes a long way. That is exactly what Christiana has been doing for the last 20 years, and some of the lessons she has learned through the years are the things that have inspired her to write this book. Christiana has woven some of those experiences along the way not just to teach people a lesson, but to also give them ideas on how to navigate this terrible and devastating condition. So Christiana's mission, through her books and through the work she does for Alexis Lodge, is to raise awareness, educate and support. 

Christiana also shared some parallels of the book to real life. The protagonist, Tony is named after her late husband, and as well as her grandson. There's action in the book between Tony and his grandpa that Christiana envisions would have happened. Another parallel is that the book itself is attributed to her son Christopher, who is a basketball player and they played off to the university level. The illustration cover is a picture drawn from Christopher's dunk. So this book holds a big spot in Christiana's heart and she hopes the book will resonate with her readers aswell.

We all have the power to reduce our risks to prevent ourselves or a loved one from developing vascular dementia, or if not other types of dementia. This book resonates with us because it is not just for children, but adults are able to pick up something from this book series as well!

Christiana's upcoming third book, Dancing with Memories: A Journey Through Mixed Dementia, is a story about a grandmother, who developed these diseases and her journey. The type of scenarios that happen in any of Christiana's books are based on real-life situations that she has either experience or has been told to her that people experienced. 

Get your copy of Unmasking Grandpa on Amazon here. Feel free to share it with friends and family, as everyone needs to learn a little bit about dementia. It doesn't matter what walk of life, it doesn't matter the age anyone that picks up any of these books can learn something from it. We hope Christiana is able to achieve her goal of educating, enlightening, and raising awareness through her books and we wish her the best of luck in the future of her authorship. We look forward to hearing more from you, let us know on Instagram what your thoughts are on Unmasking Grandpa! 

The Forever Young podcast was created and produced by Christiana Egi and Cherrie Marie Chiu. Produced and engineered by Elisse Hill. The podcast represents our opinions and those of our guests. The content should not be taken as medical advice. It is for informational purposes only. Please consult your healthcare professional for any medical questions. If you like our show, please tell your friends and leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. New episodes are available every other Wednesday. Have questions? Email us at ourforeveryoungpodcast@gmail.com.