Navigating the Dementia Journey

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Hannah Klassy – Dementia Dimensions

 

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Understanding Alzheimer’s and Dementia Progression
04:26 Understanding Alzheimer’s and Dementia Types
07:20 Complexities of Daily Hygiene Tasks
10:50 Respecting Wishes in Cognitive Decline
14:05 Health Care Communication Challenges
18:56 Heart-Healthy Lifestyle Boosts Brain Health
19:52 Diet, Brain Stimulation, and Sleep
24:00 Networking for Caregiver Business Growth
27:48 Supporting Dementia Communities Together
29:40 Brain Scans for Alzheimer’s Diagnosis
34:45 “Importance of Seeking Support”
36:25 In-Home Care Challenges and Solutions
41:36 Speech Therapy and Business Growth
44:28 Building Trust Through Familiarity
45:42 Free Home Safety Consultations
48:56 Elder Law and Financial Planning

Podcast Transcription:

Hannah Klassy [00:00:00]:
Cognitive activities. So just stimulating your brain, turning it on. I I you know, people are like, well, what can be good for my brain? If if your brain’s feeling challenged or, say, even learning a new recipe, learning new things, as long as your brain is getting turned on and you’re thinking, that’s good for you.

James Kademan [00:00:19]:
You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie. And today, we’re welcoming slash preparing to learn from Hannah Klassy of Dementia Dimensions. So, Hannah, let’s, start with what is Dementia Dimensions.

Hannah Klassy [00:00:45]:
Sure. Thanks for having me.

James Kademan [00:00:46]:
Yeah. Thanks for being on the show.

Hannah Klassy [00:00:48]:
Yeah. Yeah. So I am sole owner and founder of Dementia Dimensions. It really is where I help, people navigate the challenges through dementia and dementia care. That could be those living with dementia, families, caregivers. That’s kind of the simple version of it.

James Kademan [00:01:05]:
Alright.

Hannah Klassy [00:01:06]:
There’s a lot to Dementia, dementia care, especially if you receive a diagnosis. And so because there are so many challenges in just the navigation of it, I have started my business to really help these families.

James Kademan [00:01:20]:
Nice. Yeah. Now you raise an interesting point right off the bat here Yeah. Because I guess in my head when somebody says, hey, I have dementia or my mom has dementia or something of that nature Mhmm. You assume that’s a light switch. Like, you either don’t have dementia or you do have dementia. But it sounds like you you mentioned something about people being diagnosed Mhmm. And then saying, oh, I need help.

James Kademan [00:01:39]:
Mhmm. So that I imagine you’re on a scale, a lesser scale of being having dementia or something like that. Sure. Yeah. Tell us about that.

Hannah Klassy [00:01:48]:
Yeah. And that’s a very common question. So thanks for bringing that up. Really, there are stages of Dementia. And even before dementia and let me just start with what dementia is. Yeah. It’s really a term for your brain changing. So, it’s changes in your memory, your thinking, and your reasoning.

Hannah Klassy [00:02:08]:
So, a lot of people think, oh, it might be a disease but really it’s just a term. So different, conditions and diseases can cause brain changes, which is the dementia.

James Kademan [00:02:19]:
Alright.

Hannah Klassy [00:02:19]:
So that’s where you come into play with all Alzheimer’s disease. Because of Alzheimer’s, that is making your brain change, which in case then you have dementia. So different conditions and diseases can cause your brain to change in different ways. And so a lot of times with dementia, there’s earlier stages too which then isn’t considered quite dementia yet. When you’re diagnosed with dementia, it really means that, your daily life activities are a challenge for you. You’re not independent anymore. Some people, as they notice brain changes and they go to the doctor, they may hear the word mild cognitive impairment, which typically is before you lose that Dimensions. So you may notice some brain changes, but you’re still maybe independent at home driving.

Hannah Klassy [00:03:09]:
You may notice that your memory is not great anymore but you can still do those daily life activities. As dementia progresses, you lose those abilities. So, yes, that even in the beginning is a lot to kind of learn and understand Hannah sometimes even if people go to the doctor, they don’t get this huge explanation. So I try to help with that too with families and caregivers. I do think it’s really important to educate yourself on it even if you are a caregiver so you understand, you know, maybe as they are progressing or what to look for that you have an idea and that can be helpful to that person living with dementia.

James Kademan [00:03:45]:
Alright. Yeah. So it’s almost a a symptom of a a deeper problem typically.

Hannah Klassy [00:03:51]:
Right. And, you know, a lot of families that may reach out to me or even the person living with dementia, they say, you know, they may notice brain changes. Is it even worse worth the diagnosis? Should I go in? I’m a very, it’s it’s really up to them. I give them reasons of of why it may benefit them as well as maybe why in your choice if you don’t wanna go to the doctor and get receive receive a diagnosis. That’s your choice. Yeah. I’m really here to help them of their wishes and their best interest. But because there are over a hundred different conditions that can cause dementia

James Kademan [00:04:26]:
Wow.

Hannah Klassy [00:04:26]:
You know, you’re really looking at you know, once you maybe get a diagnosis. And why we hear Alzheimer’s a lot is because that’s the, that’s eighty percent of what dementia is that people get diagnosed with. So if you know what is Alzheimer’s disease, there’s different characteristics that come with it. There’s Lewy body dementia. There’s different types that, a lot of times you see different brain changes within that. So it can be helpful to know, you know, what what it may start to look like as you progress and what maybe comes with it. Not that it’s always the same, but it can be helpful to really see, like, what what may come out of this. What should I be looking for, that can be helpful.

James Kademan [00:05:08]:
So I guess, man, you’re opening my eyes here because no. It’s very good. It’s very good. Because I guess in my head, I’m like, oh, dementia is whatever. You’re having a rough time with your brain.

Hannah Klassy [00:05:16]:
Yeah. But in

James Kademan [00:05:17]:
the end, I imagine it could be different segments, memory or even cognitive thinking.

Hannah Klassy [00:05:22]:
Yep.

James Kademan [00:05:22]:
I don’t know. Dealing with numbers or something like that or spatial recognition. Yep. And it doesn’t necessarily

Hannah Klassy [00:05:28]:
have to be

James Kademan [00:05:29]:
all or nothing.

Hannah Klassy [00:05:29]:
Right. Right. And Okay. Even then physically, you know, it affects you too. So, that’s an important part too is, when families come to me of they ask me like, well, what can you help me with? Oh. Right. It’s just like, like yeah. Yeah.

Hannah Klassy [00:05:44]:
It’s there’s so much to it that I really, you know, start to ask them questions of where they are at now, what their wishes are, how do we plan for the now as well as for the future because I really wanna help prevent a crisis Okay. From happening. What would

James Kademan [00:06:01]:
a crisis be in this regard?

Hannah Klassy [00:06:02]:
Sure. So a lot of times, I think of a crisis as, say, they wanna stay at home and families are like, I don’t Hannah, you know, I wanna keep them home. The biggest thing is keeping them safe. Sometimes with dementia, as your brain changes, wandering can happen. You come into play with, as your brain changes, even driving, leaving the house, cooking becomes hard. So Gotcha. That could become dangerous. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:06:29]:
Okay.

Hannah Klassy [00:06:30]:
Yeah. So different aspects in that, as well as preventing falls. That’s a that’s a huge one that that happens that I think not always preventable, but you really can, you know, help reduce the risk of showering, toileting, you know, making sure we’re not falling in those daily activities you need to do, keeping them safe. Okay.

James Kademan [00:06:54]:
Yeah. So the the falling in this specifically Mhmm. Is that because people forget where they are? They forget there’s a step there kinda thing?

Hannah Klassy [00:07:01]:
Yeah. It could be. It could be visual. It could be a lot of people, They they don’t even a a lot to showering. There’s a lot of different steps your brain has to do to think about. It could be, you know, stepping into the tub. Maybe they’re a little weaker than they used to be. They don’t know where they don’t have grab bars.

Hannah Klassy [00:07:20]:
The process of showering of even standing up, moving around, what do I even do for second and third? You know? Soap, shampoo, conditioner. Alright. There’s so much to it that we take it for granted because we’ve done it our whole life. But as your brain changes, those steps can become really hard and that their decision making, becomes more poor, really, in general. So you’re you’re trying to help somebody that you tell them you need to do this and they look at you and say, why?

James Kademan [00:07:52]:
Oh, interesting.

Hannah Klassy [00:07:53]:
Yeah. So that becomes a challenge too of somebody who can’t reason, how do we get them to do things when you wanna tell them you feel like you wanna reason with them? You know, I’m telling you this because I wanna keep you safe. I want you to be able to do these things, but they’re not able to understand why you’re telling them this.

James Kademan [00:08:10]:
Got it.

Hannah Klassy [00:08:11]:
Okay. So that’s a whole another I suppose because stick to it.

James Kademan [00:08:14]:
In their head, they don’t necessarily know that they forgot or don’t know these things. Okay.

Hannah Klassy [00:08:19]:
Correct.

James Kademan [00:08:19]:
Oh, interesting.

Hannah Klassy [00:08:20]:
Yeah. Right.

James Kademan [00:08:21]:
I imagine people get stubborn with that and then that ends up with Right. Other challenges that just snowball effect that way.

Hannah Klassy [00:08:28]:
Yeah. Fights, arguing. Sure. That other person gets really agitated really easily, and that’s another part of your brain. You know, the emotional part of your brain that, at one time, they used to be able to handle their emotions. You know, you get mad. Okay. Let’s think about it.

Hannah Klassy [00:08:43]:
To them, that can be a really quick switch. So working working through that too emotionally can be hard.

James Kademan [00:08:50]:
I mentioned there’s a frustration on on their part because if they are realizing that they’re having a hard time with this stuff and there’s I don’t know. We can talk about cures or help later, but to be in that position where you don’t know or you feel like you’re not intelligent enough or whatever description you wanna use Mhmm. I know I would be frustrated.

Hannah Klassy [00:09:10]:
Right.

James Kademan [00:09:11]:
I get upset when I lose my keys.

Hannah Klassy [00:09:12]:
Right. Right. Right. How do I not know this? Yeah. And so that’s that’s a big thing I talk with families is, really, we have to remember that because these people are having a hard time reasoning, let’s try to keep their independence, you know, at the forefront.

James Kademan [00:09:28]:
Alright.

Hannah Klassy [00:09:29]:
Even though they’re having a tough time, really encouraging, you know, them to handle their independence as much as possible to keep them feel as if they are in charge of their life still. So even though you may have to help them more to really make them feel like that they’re still able to do things versus taking that all away from them, it may be you know, we’re I feel like we all really wanna be helpful.

James Kademan [00:09:51]:
Mhmm.

Hannah Klassy [00:09:52]:
So we start you know, if they have dementia, we start doing everything for them when I do believe in just I have a background in therapy. We can talk about that speech therapy. But, it is important to try to keep their independence and have them do things because you’re challenging their brain. You’re making them think that once you start doing everything for them, they don’t have to think anymore. As well as alerts.

James Kademan [00:10:11]:
I imagine.

Hannah Klassy [00:10:12]:
Right. Right. They can, progress a little quicker.

James Kademan [00:10:14]:
Okay.

Hannah Klassy [00:10:16]:
As well as yeah. I mean, everyone you know, they used to be independent in their life. And now when you start taking everything away, they’re they’re seeing it and they’re not understanding why, so that’s when frustration can really happen. Alright.

James Kademan [00:10:28]:
So you just have to be the guardrails.

Hannah Klassy [00:10:30]:
Yeah. A little bit. That’s a good way to put it. Yeah. Yeah. That’s a good way to put it to be a guardrail, keep them safe, but also keep them, you know, doing what they want to enjoy enjoy doing as well. You know, we might have a different way of of what we want their life to look like, but we really have to remember that they’re still in charge of their own life.

James Kademan [00:10:49]:
Mhmm.

Hannah Klassy [00:10:50]:
That even though what might be best for us, we really have to remember, you know, what is best for them. And that kinda brings into also as they notice, you know, initial brain changes. And it’s still more of a mild stage where maybe it’s not quite dementia yet, but they talk about mild cognitive impairment or their brain is still able to talk about it, reason with it, which can be really hard. But at that time, I encourage families and even those living with dementia to what are their wishes. What do they want their life to look like? If it progresses, you know, because that can help the families. This is their wish that even though maybe we wanted this for them and this is what they wanted for their life Right. Which can be hard, but I think that’s really important that they’re still kind of the driver in their own life as they should be.

James Kademan [00:11:37]:
And they’re having that conversation before it gets

Hannah Klassy [00:11:40]:
Right.

James Kademan [00:11:40]:
I guess before there comes a point where it’s unable to be had.

Hannah Klassy [00:11:43]:
Right. Right. Exactly. Yep. That’s why that’s what I encourage, and that’s why I I try to talk to families of how my service can be helpful and beneficial. Even in the beginning, a lot of people wait until a crisis happens if they’re like, oh, no, Hannah. What do I do now? So that’s kind of a challenge I’ve had is that I know caregivers and families are so busy and overwhelmed, but my idea of my of my business and services, I wanna decrease that stress and overwhelm that if we do these things earlier, even think about it. Not that we can plan, you know, to even know what’s going to happen, but if we we look into things, different ideas, know their wishes, that as things progress, you feel confident in your decisions and you have resources that if something does happen, you know what to do next.

James Kademan [00:12:30]:
Got it. Mhmm. So let’s shift gears into the business side. Sure. So how do you end up in a business like this?

Hannah Klassy [00:12:36]:
Right? Yeah. So I have a background in speech language pathology, also known as a speech therapist. So, I still practice that. I graduated, and then I have worked in the geriatric field since I graduated and I’ve loved it. Yeah. So I’ve worked in memory care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, assisted livings, worked in some hospitals. And during this time, especially when I had more of the memory care assisted living, I really noticed that as I worked with, my patients and clients as a speech therapist, Obviously, I learned a lot about the brain, their communication changes. So I have a really good background of just understanding the brain, which has helped me in my business as well as, as I come up with strategies even for families or the person, you know, living with Dementia, that helps in the business wise.

Hannah Klassy [00:13:30]:
But I really understood, you know, families would reach out to me and they just looked at me and said, I don’t know what to do. I can’t communicate with them or, you know, they have a lot of grief of even maybe them living in a memory care facility. And I found this huge gap of they go to the doctor, maybe they get a diagnosis, and it’s for the patient, or the person living with dementia, I should say. And the families are sitting there like, we don’t have any help. Like, we’re actually the ones taking care of them. You know, they go to the doctor’s appointments. It’s maybe fifteen, twenty minutes. Right?

James Kademan [00:14:03]:
Push them in. Shove them out. Right?

Hannah Klassy [00:14:05]:
Yeah. I mean, that’s sadly the reality of health care right now. And, you know, they they a lot of times get referred and but I really just found that huge gap of these families need help, especially because there’s so many different changes that say a change happens, you might not get into the doctor for a whole month. Oh. And it could be little things like communication. You know? I’m trying to communicate with them and they’re becoming super agitated. You know, if you go to the doctor, will they give you the exact strategy of even how to do that? Right. So there’s a lot I think that I can help with of just the ins and outs of everyday reality

James Kademan [00:14:42]:
Fair.

Hannah Klassy [00:14:43]:
Of life.

James Kademan [00:14:44]:
So you you’re working in these places

Hannah Klassy [00:14:46]:
Yes.

James Kademan [00:14:47]:
And being a speech therapist.

Hannah Klassy [00:14:48]:
Yes.

James Kademan [00:14:49]:
What made you decide to go off on your own?

Hannah Klassy [00:14:51]:
And I still practice that. So I’m trying to grow my business. I would love to do this full time.

James Kademan [00:14:55]:
Alright.

Hannah Klassy [00:14:56]:
So I appreciate you having me to kind of

James Kademan [00:14:57]:
Yeah.

Hannah Klassy [00:14:58]:
Get my service out there. Absolutely. I was Google I really was Googling, like, is this I kinda wanna be a dementia navigator. Right? Is this even a job? Like, is anyone else doing this? Yeah. Are you

James Kademan [00:15:09]:
the only one in the world doing this? Or

Hannah Klassy [00:15:11]:
I Googled, and I actually found a few other individuals that were speech therapists and had the same idea. There was one in Indiana, and there’s another one I just met, but I have never met anyone else in Wisconsin that’s really done specifically. I think there’s people that help with with dementia, but my idea of the whole navigation one on one, help, I have not found anyone in

James Kademan [00:15:38]:
our state. So there’s very few of

Hannah Klassy [00:15:38]:
us, which can be hard of people knowing that I’m a service out there. Right? I’m kind of like this unknown thing that I’m trying to get my name out there and how I can be beneficial and people to trust me

James Kademan [00:15:49]:
Right.

Hannah Klassy [00:15:49]:
Because it’s not a common job. You know? If people know about physical therapists or doctors refer a physical therapist where I’m kind of sitting out here feeling like I can be super helpful, but how can I be involved in in people’s lives and get my name out there?

James Kademan [00:16:04]:
Right. Right. Build the awareness. I imagine you know, it’s funny. I was just teaching a business class last night, and one of the slides was it’s always easier to be number two.

Hannah Klassy [00:16:14]:
Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:16:14]:
And that second, like, you got Netscape or Ask Jeeves or whatever it was way back when. Sure. And now Google has taken over the world Yeah. Or has taken over the world, I guess it would be. Yeah. So they weren’t the first, but they’ve become dominant

Hannah Klassy [00:16:27]:
Yeah.

James Kademan [00:16:28]:
Because they don’t have to explain what they do. Mhmm. It’s already been that trail Hannah been paved, I guess.

Hannah Klassy [00:16:33]:
Right. Right.

James Kademan [00:16:34]:
So you have a challenging situation now where you you have to say, like, hey. This is what I do. This is why you need it. Right. And I’m I’m certain that after clients use you, that they’re like, oh my gosh. I couldn’t live without Hannah. Yeah. But before they knew you existed, they just didn’t know you existed.

Hannah Klassy [00:16:49]:
Yeah. And I I try to be involved in support groups as well. So I’ve I’ve held some support groups, which helps me too because there’s a lot of it really gives me the idea of what people go through, you know, day

James Kademan [00:17:03]:
to day and

Hannah Klassy [00:17:03]:
even just different things that pop up. But I hear it far too often of even when I get myself in support groups. And these may be people that have been, you know, helping care for somebody with dementia for five, six, seven years, and I hear it too often of I just I wish I wish I would Hannah known you earlier.

James Kademan [00:17:22]:
Ah. Okay.

Hannah Klassy [00:17:23]:
Because I start talking about of how, you know, in early stages what to do, but they’re kind of past that and maybe their loved one’s in more of a severe stage now. And it does. It breaks my heart that, you know, they say that and and I’m still helpful to them, but at the time, they really look at me and said, I just wish I would Hannah had you. And that’s that’s one of the biggest challenges of people are overwhelmed and stressed or may not even know I’m a service, you know, all of that involved that they may even hear that I’m a service, but they’re already so overwhelmed that they think adding someone else to their team

James Kademan [00:17:56]:
Mhmm.

Hannah Klassy [00:17:57]:
Is they don’t have time for it. Right? And that’s the reality of a big challenge, I guess, too of Yeah. Of trying to fit my myself in their life. And and I tell people, you know, you may need me right now. You may not need me for another six months. It’s really of how their life life is progressing in general.

James Kademan [00:18:17]:
Tell me how the help looks. Is it Yeah. You meeting with the person the caretaker? You meeting with the person that has the dementia Yeah. Or both?

Hannah Klassy [00:18:25]:
Yeah. It could be. It could be. I’ve had people, who have been diagnosed with, say, with, say, mild cognitive impairment themselves and wanna reach out to really maybe learn more about Dementia, what they can do to help slow progression, as well as family members that reach out to me. And it really is kind of where they’re at and where we can go, from where they are. And I can maybe talk a little bit about even, keeping your brain healthy. So I talk with a lot of a lot of people, you know, with with dementia and yeah. I know.

Hannah Klassy [00:18:56]:
Right? Yeah. We all need those reminders. But really, looking at your brain, they they talk about your health overall, and I say, you know, kind of what you think, what is good for your heart is also what’s good for your brain. So they talk a lot about staying physically active thirty minutes or more if you can five days out of the week Hannah help slow progression of dementia. Being social. So talking with people and a lot of this is it’s good for your emotional well-being as well as when you talk with somebody, you’re listening, your brain is turned on. Your diet, they’ve done studies on it’s they call it the mind diet, and it’s the Mediterranean and DASH diet combined. And so that’s looking at just foods that are healthy for you, living, you know, they talk about, you know, a certain amount of red meat to be eating, not that you can’t, but decreasing that.

Hannah Klassy [00:19:52]:
You know, the sweets, the sugars, also the good things to eat, the green leafy vegetables, nuts, berries. So kinda looking at that of what you’re eating. Cognitive activities. So just stimulating your brain, turning it on. I I you know, people are like, well, what can be good for my brain? If if your brain’s feeling challenged or, say, even learning a new recipe, learning new things, as long as your brain is getting turned on and you’re thinking, that’s good for you. Alright. Yeah. As well as, you know, they talk about rest and sleep and the importance of really kind of having a routine of making sure you’re getting enough sleep, maybe not sleeping too much.

Hannah Klassy [00:20:30]:
You can take naps. They say to, like, limit it twenty minutes a day. Now as dementia may progress, their sleeping may increase, things like that. And then overall, just maintaining good health, looking at your blood pressure, things like that. So those are the main things to kinda stay healthy

James Kademan [00:20:50]:
Alright.

Hannah Klassy [00:20:50]:
Keeping your brain challenged. And that’s why I talk about independence of as you keep them involved in their own life and doing things that’s turning their brain on, keeping it as healthy as possible.

James Kademan [00:21:02]:
Alright. So doing the crossword puzzles, the Roku puzzles,

Hannah Klassy [00:21:04]:
the They talked about that. Yeah. Yeah. And some people will say, I don’t like doing puzzles, and that’s fine.

James Kademan [00:21:11]:
Sure.

Hannah Klassy [00:21:11]:
Right? It’s it’s finding activities that you also enjoy doing, that makes it important to otherwise, you’re probably not gonna do it. Right.

James Kademan [00:21:20]:
You

Hannah Klassy [00:21:20]:
know, even now in the springtime, I try to think of new ideas of, like, gardening, planting things, you know, just being involved in things you may use to do. It might look different. Maybe you liked cooking, but as dementia progresses, you may need help cooking, but keeping them involved with washing vegetables. Alright. Helping with the cooking process, it might you know, they might not be able to do it all themselves. But if that’s what they enjoy doing Mhmm. Try to keep them involved in it.

James Kademan [00:21:44]:
Alright.

Hannah Klassy [00:21:45]:
Yeah.

James Kademan [00:21:46]:
So it reminds me I guess, I didn’t do this because I feel like I needed some help in the brain work, but, I just started learning how to play guitar.

Hannah Klassy [00:21:55]:
Nice. Yes. Learning something new.

James Kademan [00:21:57]:
Yeah. And it’s one of those things where you feel like a moron because the the guy just grabs my guitar and he’s doing just Yeah. Like crazy stuff. Yeah. And I’m there just staring at it like a kid that just saw a pencil for the first time, like, where did you put your fingers?

Hannah Klassy [00:22:11]:
Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. Which can be hard, especially as your brain is changing, learning new things might be more challenging. And people recognize this. They’ll say, I used to be able to work my phone. I used to be you know, back in the day, used to be on the computer, and now it’s so hard. Mhmm.

Hannah Klassy [00:22:28]:
So really still trying to involve them, and and it may be even on our phones, we we have an ability to make it more simple that they can still use it. It might need to be more of a simple version of it. But, yeah, learning things learning new things is challenging in general and it can be frustrating, but, not that we want it to be to that point, but you’re turning your brain on, you’re thinking.

James Kademan [00:22:50]:
Yeah. It’s one of those you get out of the day to day minutiae Yeah. Just to try something new.

Hannah Klassy [00:22:55]:
Yeah. Yeah. Which does a lot for your brain and your health in general.

James Kademan [00:22:59]:
Yeah. I feel like it’s a use it or lose it kinda thing.

Hannah Klassy [00:23:01]:
Yeah. Yeah. That’s just it too.

James Kademan [00:23:02]:
In front of a TV or something like

Hannah Klassy [00:23:04]:
that. Exactly. Yeah. You’re just not really thinking. Yeah. No. Yeah. And I tell people, you know, they worry about, you know, should I always be doing something? And there is a time for rest and especially people who are starting to have more brain challenges, we do need to rest our brain a little bit because, if you try to do too much, that can be overstimulating, and then you can see that fatigue increase.

Hannah Klassy [00:23:28]:
So that can be challenging too as how much is too much, but how much should I be doing in a day, that you can stay healthy and active Alright. In doing so. Fair. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:23:40]:
From a marketing standpoint Yeah. What what have you done so far that has worked?

Hannah Klassy [00:23:45]:
Yeah. I really started to just network. I talk about a lot that I I need a team even with my business. I am not the expert in everything, and I don’t ride a bee.

James Kademan [00:23:58]:
Some stuff like that? Yeah. Yeah.

Hannah Klassy [00:23:59]:
Yeah.

James Kademan [00:23:59]:
Yeah. Big challenge.

Hannah Klassy [00:24:00]:
Yeah. Yeah. There’s so many different areas that we even talked about that, say they need another caregiver in their home. I’m not the one to do it. So networking for me to grab a team for business and marketing wise of even people to know about my business was, I think, big as well as for myself of trusting people to help me, in my business. So that’s been a huge one. Okay. I try to go to a lot of if there’s, like, fairs that go on, senior living fairs, trying to reach out to a lot of, like, social workers even at hospitals so they kind of know a lot of times.

Hannah Klassy [00:24:39]:
And that’s where I feel like the gap is that if these people go to the doctor or say they had a fall, they may just be sent back home with with nothing.

James Kademan [00:24:49]:
Really?

Hannah Klassy [00:24:50]:
Yeah. I mean, they they get better and then their challenge is, okay, they go back home because they’re healthy enough, but then you’re still living with the daily challenges of maybe dementia. Right? So I think that’s still a huge gap. But I think, you know, with people living longer in general Mhmm. This a lot of people are knowing more about Dementia. So it’s growing in a sense as well as the amount of caregivers. I think there’s there’s a statistic. There’s over 11,000,000 unpaid caregivers.

Hannah Klassy [00:25:21]:
So that is

James Kademan [00:25:22]:
generally Okay. So you’re talking family,

Hannah Klassy [00:25:24]:
friends, so Family, friends, things like that.

James Kademan [00:25:26]:
Eleven million?

Hannah Klassy [00:25:27]:
Yeah. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:25:28]:
In The US? US? Yes. Yes. My gosh. That’s a measurable percentage of the population.

Hannah Klassy [00:25:32]:
Yeah. So that’s huge, I mean, of how many people I feel like I could help out there in general. But, yeah, I just marketing. I mean, this is helping me market in general. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just because, like, what we talked about earlier, it’s getting my name out there and who to talk with that who are my customers and how can they learn about my business.

Hannah Klassy [00:25:54]:
It’s a lot of maybe people who have used me that maybe tell other people, getting involved in support groups that the people that are literally going through it day to day that they know I’m out there. But I would say that is a challenge of just marketing myself.

James Kademan [00:26:07]:
Alright. And

Hannah Klassy [00:26:07]:
I’ve taken some business classes to learn because starting a business, you know, there’s a lot of challenges or just learning how to, yeah, do a business in general. Learning a lot about them, and I feel like I still am.

James Kademan [00:26:19]:
Okay. Well, we all are.

Hannah Klassy [00:26:20]:
Okay. Yeah. So it’s nice to

James Kademan [00:26:22]:
anybody that says that they have all figured

Hannah Klassy [00:26:24]:
out is lying. Lying. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:26:25]:
Or they just don’t know.

Hannah Klassy [00:26:27]:
Yeah. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:26:28]:
I guess there was a time I can tell you when I first started my business. Mhmm. I had I was taking all these classes, but there were classes on taxes or bookkeeping, sales, marketing. I didn’t take any on HR or hiring because I thought, how big of a deal is that, man? Right. They throw an ad out there. People come to the interview you or in you interview them. You pay them. They do their job.

James Kademan [00:26:51]:
Rinse, repeat. And I didn’t know that no show were a thing. I didn’t know, oh my gosh. There’s so many things I didn’t know from, just way managing employees. I just Right. Figured you could just be like, go do your job. I’ll send you a paycheck, move on with your life.

Hannah Klassy [00:27:07]:
Yeah.

James Kademan [00:27:08]:
And you learn all these things that, oh my gosh. I had no idea that I didn’t know.

Hannah Klassy [00:27:11]:
Right. Right.

James Kademan [00:27:12]:
So you’re like, okay. I gotta find that.

Hannah Klassy [00:27:14]:
You put on that. Exactly.

James Kademan [00:27:15]:
Yeah. Culture of a business. I didn’t know that was a thing.

Hannah Klassy [00:27:18]:
Right. Right. Right.

James Kademan [00:27:19]:
I just thought we’re cool,

Hannah Klassy [00:27:20]:
man. I know. Yeah. You’ll get into it, and it’ll kinda grow, but I feel like there are different things and ideas you can do to try to get yourself out there. And and you wanna do it the right way

James Kademan [00:27:31]:
Yeah.

Hannah Klassy [00:27:32]:
In a sense. But, you know, what is the right way? Especially everyone’s business is so different that, yeah, there’s a lot to it. Fair.

James Kademan [00:27:40]:
Yeah. So the people that typically come to you, are they the caregivers or they’re the people that have been diagnosed?

Hannah Klassy [00:27:45]:
I would say more family and caregivers

James Kademan [00:27:47]:
Okay.

Hannah Klassy [00:27:48]:
Currently that that reach out to me. And and that’s why I try to talk about even those living with dementia that they’re able to reach out to me as well. Mhmm. And maybe when it’s so new, they don’t even think about it in a sense, until, you know, then it’s the families when they’re having the challenges and then the people living with dementia might not even know they’re having challenges. But, yeah, that I’m out there for everyone involved really. And some people, they ask, you know, if they meet with me, should they be there? You know, the person live with living with Dementia, should they not? And that’s really I talk about their situation. Some and even that’s where receiving a diagnosis comes into play. Some people who are diagnosed or start to notice brain changes want to know everything that’s going on.

James Kademan [00:28:40]:
Alright.

Hannah Klassy [00:28:40]:
Right? Like, what is going on with me? I want to know. There’s others that look at it and they become stressed and overwhelmed and say, this is making me more stressed, which is not really what we want to do.

James Kademan [00:28:52]:
Right? Opposite.

Hannah Klassy [00:28:53]:
Yeah. So it’s it’s really on what they want, in that standpoint for me to just help them through that. But I would say right now, yeah, it’s a lot more families and caregivers that that I help currently.

James Kademan [00:29:07]:
So I have to apologize because this is gonna sound like a dumb question. No. But from a diagnostic point a diagnostic point of view, how do they test for that? How do they test for dementia?

Hannah Klassy [00:29:16]:
Right. Right. And that’s that’s where even research with dementia and different types that that cause dementia is out there. The research is still going. That’s why I tell them a doctor can be helpful. I can’t just diagnose any somebody with dementia. So you a lot of times, I tell them to go to the doctor because they do run different tests. There’s cognitive tests.

Hannah Klassy [00:29:40]:
They can do scans of your brain to really see what’s going on in your brain to really see, you know, Alzheimer’s disease is really, you know, the the front part of your brain. They can kinda see what’s going on where, that’s that’s how they pretty much diagnose it in a sense. But I’ve had a lot of families reach out to me that they go and get these tests done and and think of somebody where maybe their brain is changing and they’re not quite yet in the or they’re not in the mild stage, maybe they’re more in a moderate stage and you take them into a doctor, they’re getting cognitive tests which a lot of that is asking questions, testing your memory, your reasoning. You go get a scan, you get put in a machine. A lot of that is scary. I bet. Yeah. Yeah.

Hannah Klassy [00:30:26]:
And I’ve heard people a lot of people have reached out to me to say that was really traumatizing for them and I don’t I don’t even want them to go back to the doctor. Like, that was so traumatizing for them that I try to help them through then. Okay. You know, if that is something that they just are unable to go to the doctor, what are different ways we can do as well as your day to day life if you want if you do know, you know, what your diagnose is really in general, how do we live the day to day life? Because that’s really what it is about, is working through those challenges through it.

James Kademan [00:31:01]:
Alright. You know, I’m thinking that kinda makes sense because if they let’s say they go to the doctor, doctor, they get tested Mhmm. And the doctor’s like, hey. You have I don’t know if they do it in levels.

Hannah Klassy [00:31:10]:
Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:31:10]:
You have level five dementia or something like that. And then you’re like, great. What do I do with that information?

Hannah Klassy [00:31:15]:
Right. Right.

James Kademan [00:31:16]:
Like, does that mean I can’t work a stove, or what does that even mean?

Hannah Klassy [00:31:19]:
Right. So Right.

James Kademan [00:31:20]:
Yeah. Go back for more diagnose diagnostics seems kinda

Hannah Klassy [00:31:24]:
Right.

James Kademan [00:31:24]:
Unnecessary because there’s no outside of using someone like you that can say, hey. Let’s put some things in place. Right. The doctor’s gonna be like, yep. You’re at a different level.

Hannah Klassy [00:31:33]:
Right.

James Kademan [00:31:34]:
Get out of here.

Hannah Klassy [00:31:35]:
Right. Right. Exactly. And I actually also just had somebody, reach out to me where they said they went to the doctor. They were at home by themselves and then received a phone call and they basically said you are on the path to Alzheimer’s disease, and then kind of will, schedule another appointment. And this person was really upset by all means, you know, they were alone. They just got this devastating news. They also were saying, what does path to Alzheimer’s mean? Do I have it? Do I not? Like, what do I do with this information? And they didn’t have an appointment for another month, which then their family was getting involved, but they’re sitting there and and that’s hard and tough and emotionally.

Hannah Klassy [00:32:19]:
Yeah. Yeah. And and right away too when families reach out to me, I try to bring into how are you emotionally and you really have to think about your emotional well-being. Even when people get diagnosed, maybe they’re not ready yet to hear about all the resources that are out there, how how I can be super helpful. Maybe it’s you’re kind of starting a grieving process, even the caregivers. Right? Let’s take care of that first because if we we don’t, as this progresses, things are gonna be even harder. And I go into the emotional well-being not only those of the grieving process of you get diagnosed with this, the caregivers start to notice that their loved one is changing. You used to know somebody where their brain changes, their personality changes.

Hannah Klassy [00:33:05]:
That’s a whole grieving process. You almost feel like you’re losing somebody you once knew. Absolutely. Right? And and that’s challenging. And then as, you know, personalities change or say hallucinations, they start having hallucinations, things like that, where their brain is changing, how do we how do we help with that? You know, it’s it can be scary. So, really, I try to talk about that first because I think we should talk about that more first rather than trying to just feel like, how do I do to fix this or what can I do? Yeah. You know, it’s a process. There’s a grieving process to be patient with that and and find resources where there are support groups.

Hannah Klassy [00:33:41]:
There is counseling out there, to get involved and talk with others. And I talk about, you know, a lot about having a team, but as much as you wanna try to do this alone, you won’t be able to even as a caregiver, and you shouldn’t, have people you trust around you because it will become really hard. And if you get those people on, you know, board early on and the people you trust as this progresses, you’ll have those people to reach out to. And I I think we’re all stubborn in our own ways. You know, we wanna be independent. You wanna be the caregiver. I can do this alone. You know, don’t worry about me.

Hannah Klassy [00:34:18]:
It’s just you can’t do it alone. You really just can’t.

James Kademan [00:34:21]:
I also imagine if you’re a caregiver

Hannah Klassy [00:34:24]:
Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:34:25]:
Before you ask for help, if you do ask for help, you’re almost admitting that you need help to get this done. Right. And some people are so stubborn. They’re just like, I got this.

Hannah Klassy [00:34:33]:
Yeah.

James Kademan [00:34:34]:
It’s not that big of a deal. Right.

Hannah Klassy [00:34:35]:
But as

James Kademan [00:34:36]:
soon as they ask for help, they’re realizing or acknowledging this is a big deal. Right. Which is probably smarter.

Hannah Klassy [00:34:41]:
Yeah. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:34:43]:
Hannah get in the way of a lot of things.

Hannah Klassy [00:34:45]:
Uh-huh. And that’s why, you know, early on talking about even the education, emotional well-being, talking with others that maybe have gone through this, once you hear their stories, they kind of start to recognize, okay. It is okay for me to ask for help. You know, these other people did and they found it super helpful, that if they hear other people’s stories and really recognize, okay, like, other people are doing this and they’re telling me, you know, you should ask for help. Mhmm. People, you need help. Because even as a caregiver, how do you take care of yourself and then say you have to start looking after somebody twenty four seven? Oh, you guys also still live in a house together. How do you take care of a house in general? Think of lawn mowing, winter stuff.

Hannah Klassy [00:35:28]:
How do you cook? How do you clean? I mean, you just can’t. You can’t take care of somebody and everything else in your life, by yourself.

James Kademan [00:35:37]:
Right. And stay sane.

Hannah Klassy [00:35:38]:
And stay sane. Yeah. Stay, you know, emotionally well in general. So, yeah, it it takes a team. It really does. Yeah. And I I just wanna be a part of that for people that I’m not the only team member too for them that I can be helpful in gaining resources and what I think would be beneficial for them. Mhmm.

Hannah Klassy [00:35:59]:
But, yeah, even I can’t go into somebody’s life and do everything No. By myself. No. That’s fine. That’s great.

James Kademan [00:36:05]:
Yeah. Tell me, what does help look like? I don’t know if if there is a typical help.

Hannah Klassy [00:36:10]:
Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:36:10]:
You’re just like, five hours or whatever. Just help me understand if somebody reaches out to you. Let’s say they’re a caretaker.

Hannah Klassy [00:36:16]:
Okay.

James Kademan [00:36:16]:
And they’re like, hey. My mom, we just think she’s going downhill mentally.

Hannah Klassy [00:36:22]:
Mhmm. Sure.

James Kademan [00:36:23]:
Where do we start?

Hannah Klassy [00:36:24]:
Sure.

James Kademan [00:36:24]:
How does that work?

Hannah Klassy [00:36:25]:
Sure. And and that’s a that’s a big one, and and I respect, you know, a lot of families that say we wanna keep them at home. Are they safe? So I a lot of times I will go into the home. I ask what their daily life is. Can you bring them still to the grocery store? Can you not? What is challenging? Maybe they say, you know, even getting them into a shower during the week, they tell me they don’t need to shower because they can’t remember when they showered or they think, you know, they showered yesterday but didn’t and couldn’t remember it. So what are their current challenges and where can we maybe add in other help and caregiving even to give them a break? I tell them, you know, to to help with emotional well-being. Maybe it’s not even to just go to the grocery store, which I tell them, if you need to go to the grocery store, maybe we need to bring somebody in, or even looking at, like, Meals on Wheels, even if it’s three times a week, you know, to help with that, that you kinda look at those hours of the days of where do you feel, you know, pretty comfortable, it’s not super stressful, where are the stressful times, to bring other people in, if that answers your question.

James Kademan [00:37:31]:
Yeah. So it’s putting together a game plan.

Hannah Klassy [00:37:33]:
Yeah. Kind of a game plan of of maybe what we could add, to be helpful, which could be walks during the day. Maybe they’re not physically able to walk as much anymore, so maybe we have somebody come in and maybe it’s they take them out and and go for a walk. But going back to the emotional well-being, you know, I I talk a lot about taking care of yourself and people will say, what does that mean? Like, people tell me that all the time. Make sure you take care of yourself in any, you know, aspect of life. If something’s hard or something traumatic happens, it’s make sure to take care of yourself. What does that mean? Right? Like, okay.

James Kademan [00:38:11]:
Be good.

Hannah Klassy [00:38:11]:
Have fun. Be good. Yeah. Yeah. And so I try to tell them, think of times where you what brings you joy? What do you like to do in life? Even you know, don’t even think about, you know, caregiving right now in in the dementia aspect. Even maybe back in the day, say you were working and you wanted a day off, what would you do on your day off? Like, what do you like to do? What helps decrease stress? What do you enjoy doing? A lot of men, it might be like golfing. Some women it might be getting a massage. Sometimes it might be hanging out.

Hannah Klassy [00:38:48]:
I have a lot of caregivers that might be older that have grandkids and they say I don’t even have time to go see grandkids. Maybe they want a a couple hours or a day off work. I wanna go with the grandkids. That makes me happy. That helps relieve stress. So I don’t have the exact answer of how they what they find joy in their life, but really finding time for themselves to just kinda decompress and what do they like doing or maybe what have they done before that that that they like to do.

James Kademan [00:39:16]:
I suppose that comes into the the Midwest work ethic.

Hannah Klassy [00:39:19]:
Yes.

James Kademan [00:39:19]:
If you feel like you’re not Yes. If you’re not taking care of this person that you’re the caretaker for, that you must be a terrible person

Hannah Klassy [00:39:26]:
or something like

James Kademan [00:39:26]:
that. Right. Taking an hour off or a day off, two conditions.

Hannah Klassy [00:39:30]:
Yes. Yes. You almost yeah. You feel like, am I failing at this? Or you start to feel bad about it. And, again, that’s where I say you need breaks. Yeah. You need people to help you. You cannot do this alone and you shouldn’t.

Hannah Klassy [00:39:45]:
But, yeah, that’s the Midwest work ethic for sure. Just push push push push push. And I tell people early on too, and I I tell them I’m not trying to scare you. But as a caregiver, what happens if something happens to you? Oh. What do you have a plan?

James Kademan [00:40:03]:
So for the person that’s being taken care of

Hannah Klassy [00:40:04]:
Yeah. What what goes in a

James Kademan [00:40:06]:
world of hurt.

Hannah Klassy [00:40:07]:
Right. And why I talk about that too is there’s another statistic that there’s all sorts of different types of caregivers. Right? But, actually caregivers that take that takes care of someone living with dementia, the prevalence of depression is thirty to forty percent higher.

James Kademan [00:40:22]:
So I can easily believe that.

Hannah Klassy [00:40:24]:
Yeah. Yeah. Right. I talk about that early on too so they kinda recognize and and I talk about how hard this can be, and that that we really need to think about that. And they also have a higher risk of, like, hypertension, which is like high blood pressure. So physically and, you know, your body, your health changes as a caregiver. And that’s why it’s so important that if you don’t take care of yourself, you might be more in the world of hurt than even this person living with Dementia if something happens to you and you’re trying to do this alone and you end up in the hospital, what Hannah?

James Kademan [00:40:58]:
Right.

Hannah Klassy [00:40:58]:
Right? So that’s where you do need a team. I mean, you never know what could happen

James Kademan [00:41:01]:
Mhmm.

Hannah Klassy [00:41:02]:
At any given moment as you being a caregiver. And so trying to prepare and plan and think about that is really important, especially early on.

James Kademan [00:41:11]:
I bet. Yeah. And I mentioned that’s not top of mind.

Hannah Klassy [00:41:14]:
No. No. No.

James Kademan [00:41:14]:
Are you thinking I gotta take care of this person? I can do everything I can for them? Yep. Completely oblivious to the fact that you gotta take care of yourself as well.

Hannah Klassy [00:41:21]:
Yeah. Yep. Absolutely. Interesting.

James Kademan [00:41:24]:
Yeah. So tell me about your business. Where would you like it to go? Let’s say over the course of I’m gonna be, like, three years.

Hannah Klassy [00:41:31]:
Yeah.

James Kademan [00:41:31]:
Yeah. Right? No one ever Yeah. Really knows. But let’s just say for fun, what Yeah. What is the goal three years from now?

Hannah Klassy [00:41:36]:
Yeah. And that’s where I looked at it. I do still really enjoy being a speech therapist. I think I get I still get a lot of practice of helping treating patients even living with Dementia. But at this point in time, as I started my business, I really, really love doing it. I would like to make this full time as if I do grow full time, gaining team members onto my team. And that would probably be even looking at just because of the world of therapy. I do believe a lot of, like, speech therapists or occupational therapists have that background knowledge of not only the science behind it, but the treatment of it.

Hannah Klassy [00:42:17]:
And then even they’ve worked with families too of somebody, you know, who could be on my team to help with it as well. That is my goal of it is really Nice. Making it full time. I know it will take time and at first it’s you know, I’m sure you’ve seen it where it’s going through ups and downs that you might have some more quiet hours and then all of a sudden it picks up. So I’m kind of managing that too right now of, I still do speech therapy. I do also my business. What is that gonna look like? I don’t know. You know, in the in the near future.

Hannah Klassy [00:42:50]:
No idea. But I would hope that I could grow this, just to help more people. If I’m growing, that means I’m helping more people out there and more families. Nice. As well as then, I think, other people recognize the gaps of it of see, maybe other people recognize it that they wanna be involved to help.

James Kademan [00:43:07]:
That’s fair. That’s totally fair. The, what I wanna ask, does this have to be in person or can it be remote as well?

Hannah Klassy [00:43:16]:
Yeah. Thanks for asking. Yeah. I’ve actually, I can do virtual. And a lot of times it is. Sometimes it is just a phone call. Sometimes people have called me and said, you know, as I’ve I’ve been with them for a little bit too, they woke up. They’re not talking to me.

Hannah Klassy [00:43:31]:
They’re not acting right. What do I do? Sometimes I’m just a a phone call of, you know, what has what has happened.

James Kademan [00:43:39]:
Just the sounding board.

Hannah Klassy [00:43:40]:
Yeah. Yeah. And sometimes for families, you know, thankfully, and I think since since COVID too, you know, really the FaceTime, we’ve really recognized that we can, you know, see each other face to face or even just a phone call and how that can still be helpful.

James Kademan [00:43:54]:
Mhmm.

Hannah Klassy [00:43:55]:
So I’ve done this. I can do it anywhere over The US. I actually had someone from Ireland reach out to me too. So Oh, that’s so cool. Amazing now. I’m like, this is pretty cool. Yeah. So it can be virtual for sure.

Hannah Klassy [00:44:07]:
Okay. I don’t think I I need to be some families, you know, if they want me to come into the home, or I’ve had people reach out to me to really, maybe they’re in a facility. They want me to meet them. So it kinda depends where you’re at. But, yes, I can do in person. I could do virtual. Sometimes it’s more of I meet with families at a coffee shop.

James Kademan [00:44:27]:
Okay.

Hannah Klassy [00:44:28]:
Sometimes it’s hard for them to leave their house, but sometimes that’s what you have to do if they also say, if you come into the home, I’m gonna I’m a little afraid that, you know, they’re starting to be afraid of strangers, that how does this you know, I’m a little nervous of bringing you in, which is totally fair. I do I do let them know, you know, with my background of speech therapy, that has really helped me because you are you are trying to help somebody without really saying I’m gonna help you with x, y, and z because they look at you and say, I don’t need help with that. Mhmm. So there’s a way of communicating and really gaining them to trust you that that I tell them, you know, I think it’s worth me coming in and trying. And if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. But I do feel like I have a good sense of coming in without, like, overwhelming everybody. That sometimes I come in as a friend. Right? And that’s that’s how you gain them to trust you of coming in as a friend or person that that they know.

James Kademan [00:45:26]:
Just chilling.

Hannah Klassy [00:45:27]:
Really just chilling. Yeah. Gaining gaining their trust because that’s what you need, first. Fair. Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:45:33]:
So are you advising people about thing like, I’m just thinking, like, safety bars in the shower or whatever they call those grab bars.

Hannah Klassy [00:45:39]:
Grab bars, things like that. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:45:41]:
Are you advising on stuff like that as well?

Hannah Klassy [00:45:42]:
Yeah. I can help with that. There’s actually also, a free service, and I’m forgetting the exact name of it, where, they’re either retired occupational therapists, but they can come into your house in the Madison area for free and they will look at your home environment safety overall. So they can come home and they can also help acknowledge what they also might need. I’ve learned a lot just with my background of what can be helpful in the in the shower or, during toileting, rugs and mats, things like that. We try to remove a lot of rugs in the home actually because that’s a tripping hazard. Yeah. So I’ve learned that a lot, from occupational therapists occupational therapists and physical therapists along the way.

Hannah Klassy [00:46:30]:
So I feel like I do have a good good sense of how to keep the environment safe at home with this. Not that maybe I’m always the exact expert, but I feel like I I know enough or I’ll I’ll refer them out, for people to come in and and really see how we can change it.

James Kademan [00:46:48]:
Alright. Mhmm. So if you let’s just say you’re a caretaker or going to be a caretaker because mom or dad just had a fall or something like that. Sure. You mentioned a team. Mhmm. What just to get a checklist to Okay. Systematize it.

James Kademan [00:47:03]:
Probably too much. Yeah. Let’s just see. Yeah. Because I’m trying to think something like, my parents are older. Yeah. And I can imagine in the not too distant future, I’m gonna get a phone call that from my sister that’s like, hey. This happened.

James Kademan [00:47:16]:
Mhmm. And it would be nice to be like, okay. This is what we need to do instead of being like, I don’t even know where to start. Yeah. So from a team point of view, if you have a person that you’re taking care of that Hannah Dementia, whether diagnosed or just

Hannah Klassy [00:47:31]:
Yeah.

James Kademan [00:47:32]:
We realize it.

Hannah Klassy [00:47:33]:
Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:47:34]:
Who would be members of that team?

Hannah Klassy [00:47:36]:
Sure. And that’s you. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Me. I I talk a lot about even just gaining a primary care physician, whether you Hannah get into that hole we talked about getting diagnosed or not, really because as you may change or maybe as things go on, maybe you need medications, maybe there’s things going on that if something happens medically, having a doctor you trust and that you’ve talked with and they know what’s going on. So so if you have somebody where if you do need to have a check-in that that there’s a doctor that you can trust as well as in the world we live in, insurance

James Kademan [00:48:23]:
is a

Hannah Klassy [00:48:23]:
good ask about that. Yeah. So a lot of times, say, you wanna go into a, like, a memory care facility, you needed, you need to diagnose. So, in that standpoint, the doctor is the only one that can diagnose you. So, sometimes early on just just gaining a doctor you trust. Then we go into, family members, obviously, making sure you’re gaining a team of people you trust around you. I talk actually out there about thinking financially. Okay.

Hannah Klassy [00:48:56]:
So I talk a lot about elder law attorneys. Oh. Because we money and financial situations become become a thing, especially if you start to need more care and help that costs money. Maybe you wanna look into facilities. Things cost a lot of money these days, unfortunately. And there’s ways that they understand the process of it even for Medicare, things like that that to be financially, stable in the sense that you’re confident that where you’re at and what you can do with certain money, even protecting yourself. So there’s trust, there’s wills, things like that that as you pass away are unable to make decisions. They also then health care power of attorneys, things like that, they get involved with that.

Hannah Klassy [00:49:43]:
And then I kinda give resources out there of maybe as they progress thinking about therapy.

James Kademan [00:49:50]:
Mhmm.

Hannah Klassy [00:49:50]:
In home therapy can be a thing, even going to outpatient clinics.

James Kademan [00:49:53]:
Talking about mental, physical, or both?

Hannah Klassy [00:49:55]:
Could be both. Yeah. Okay. All involved. Yeah. I had a list and it was like because there’s so many things that can go on, it’s like they try to take on the job of 50 different things. Right? Right? That it it really is hard to, like, say exactly, but, those are good team members to start with, I would say. And then if you feel like you do need more help is really Hannah team of people who you trust who can help take care of them as well that understands maybe their condition, how to communicate with them.

Hannah Klassy [00:50:30]:
So when I refer people, I know that I’m referring individuals that have a background of helping people with Dimensions not just anybody that’s gonna come in to your home. So, yeah, that’s that’s a hard one to exactly answer of a whole team, but those are some things that I try to talk about early on, I would say.

James Kademan [00:50:47]:
No. It’s a it’s a starting point.

Hannah Klassy [00:50:48]:
Yeah.

James Kademan [00:50:49]:
And it gets you 80% of the way there, 90% of the way there, which is probably way better than Yeah. Most people in doubt.

Hannah Klassy [00:50:55]:
In a team, I would also say of just resources of even support groups, if you’re interested in that or resources in the sense of, there’s even adult day centers out there that you can go to. A Grace has one. I think they can go there for eight hours a day. So if you’re interested in that too, you know, some some caregivers still have to work, you know, and they go, what what what can I do during the times I have to work? Where could they go? What what should we be doing? So talking about that of just what they want their life to look like.

James Kademan [00:51:28]:
Fair? Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Yeah. Hannah, thank you so much.

Hannah Klassy [00:51:31]:
Thank you.

James Kademan [00:51:32]:
We covered some ground here.

Hannah Klassy [00:51:33]:
Okay. Where can people find you? Yeah. So, I’m online, www.dementiadimensions.org. They can find me on Instagram, Dementia Dimensions, Facebook. I have an an email, hannah@dementiadimensions.org.

James Kademan [00:51:52]:
That’s all one word?

Hannah Klassy [00:51:53]:
Yep. Okay. So on there, you can reach out. And on my website, you can reach right out to me on there. But yeah.

James Kademan [00:52:01]:
Awesome. You

Hannah Klassy [00:52:01]:
can find me. Sweet.

James Kademan [00:52:03]:
Yeah. Thank you so much for being on

Hannah Klassy [00:52:04]:
the show. I appreciate it.

James Kademan [00:52:05]:
This has been Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie. If you’re listening or watching this on the web, if you could do us a huge favor, give us a big old thumbs up, subscribe, and of course, share it with your entrepreneurial friends and those friends that may have someone that they have to take care of or know of someone that is running down the dementia road. Whether we like it or not. Right?

Hannah Klassy [00:52:31]:
Right.

James Kademan [00:52:32]:
We’d like to thank you, our wonderful listeners as well as our guest, Hannah Klassy of Dementia Dimensions. Hannah, can you tell us that website one more time?

Hannah Klassy [00:52:38]:
Yes. Www.dementiadimensions.org.

James Kademan [00:52:43]:
I gotta make sure we get that. Yes. Past episodes can be found morning, noon, and night at the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. Thank you for joining us. We will see you next week. I want you to stay awesome. And if you do nothing else, enjoy your business.