One Day, One Idea and One Person Can Change the World
Truth Be Told…
There are people behind Doggies for Dementia Foundation. I, Carmen Davailus am the president and founder and thought perhaps you would like to know how our mission and vision came about. You might be surprised.
In 2016, I had some sort of what seemed like an epiphany. I was busy in the office seeing families impacted by dementia. While I had prescriptions to offer, my most appreciated gifts were presence, compassion and kindness. I learned that very early in my 40 year career. Heck, with regard to dementia, I had very little modern medicine to offer-limited prescriptions which may or may not help, no cure, little hope of slowing the progression and scattered social support. I know more about resources now than ever before. Long days leave little time to explore what the community has to offer. Those were tough appointments, and I often thought how the world would be a much less petty place if others knew the tragedy and triumphs those impacted by dementia go through.
This seems random, but stay with me. One day in early 2015, I had the flu and stayed home from work. An ad for Creative Live popped onto my computer screen, and they offered a free photography workshop. This one happened to be with Jennifer Rozenbaum. She talked about light, posing and how our camera, our art can tell stories. This blew my mind! I was hooked. I had never taken a photography class before, but always had my camera close by. I read books and practiced a
s a hobbyist, but this was all new and exciting. Photography is an art and a science, and while having a good eye is great, there is a lot to learn about modern photography and in particular documentary photography. In any event, life got busy again, but I took a few minutes here and there to log in and watch more workshops. PS- I give credit to Jennifer Rosenbaum for her inspiration and when I turned 60, I went to her studio in New York City for a photo session. Can you imagine the Full Circle Moment for me? I don’t have words to describe how this felt.
About One Week Later on an Ordinary Day, One Appointment, One Couple Changed my Life.
I would like to think this change in me has made a positive impact in others too but it changed my life beyond measure. Before this I imagined working in the clinic until I retired sometime in the next decade. I was getting kind of close to 60 after all. I was exhausted commuting into the city, working 12 or more hours a day and then spending more time on the computer finishing prescriptions and emails when I got home and I couldn’t even imagine it being different. You might think the advent of electronic medical records meant more freedom from charting and long days, but the 24/7 access meant pretty much 24/7 connection. In any event, I loved my job and career, and was so deep into it, I had little vision of a different future until then. I cannot even imagine what life would be like if I not been inspired to do something different.
It wasn’t long before I planned ‘dates’ to meet with families and photograph them. We started with mostly posed portraits, and worked into candid and continue to evolve into more documentary style images. Families shared the pain of loneliness and isolation feeling others didn’t know about Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia and then distance themselves. They hear words like, “I would rather remember him the way he was” and “I would come by, but I’m afraid to say the
wrong thing.” My vision was to share the stories and images and teach others about dementia. I hoped to make it less scary and more real. I wanted to see the stigma and social isolation go away. I found the images with dogs were the most popular on social media. Those pics were the ones people stopped and read the post. They go to the know the families. Plus, the sessions with dogs were more candid and real, which is something I wanted.
It seems like an easy jump, but I really pondered on how to make a difference in an interesting way so people would want to learn more. I sat on my couch wondering about this as Sparky and Yoshi fought for my attention. Dogs! If people love pics with dogs and spend more time reading the posts and blogs, then why not go where the people are? I asked, what if we photograph people with their dogs, highlight the impact of their four pawed family and tell their stories? What if we reduce stigma with puppy love? The first year of Doggies for Dementia was spent as a program within Carmen’s Legacy Productions, my photography business. I planned one session a month, and families were not charged. I covered the expenses. We had two sessions-one with video and images of the family and dog, and then a week or two later I return to show them their photos. We pray the video and images go viral. We want people to learn about Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia. About a year later, Doggies for Dementia became an official 501c3 nonprofit and this is what you see today. By the way, we filed paperwork a few weeks before the Covid-19 lockdown in 202o. Needless to say, this slowed us down a bit.
Then, A Pandemic
You might wander how we can meet with families and photograph them when our subjects are high risk and we are on lock down. So did we! Our mission is to raise awareness and share families stories. Even though we couldn’t be close to those directly impacted with dementia to photograph, we shared families’ stories about the impact of a pandemic on a loved one with Alzheimer’s Disease or other type of dementia. Our YouTube channel and program, Experts Dig in with Doggies for Dementia was born. Stories became more important than ever. We are beginning to get out again and words can’t express how excited we are!
Now, 5+ years later from the time of my ‘epiphany,’ I can look in the rear view mirror at my simple idea to help families tell their stories in words and photographs and see cascades of excitement, disappointments, joy, frustrations and powerful growth. The change in me from exhausted to inspired triggered depression, anxiety and rage in someone very close to me. Sadly, change, even good change can be a challenge, and relationships change. I spend my days working on Doggies for Dementia Foundation, the nonprofit which arose from the simple idea to share people’s stories and change the world. Yes, stories can change the world! I speak on stages and in front of my computer. I blog and created a Youtube channel. I’ve photographed many beautiful faces and carry their stories with me every day. I went from a clinical nurse practitioner to the author of an award winning book, Just See Me-Sacred Stories from the Other Side of Dementia.
It took a lot longer than I thought it would to write, and it ended up being so much more than I could imagine. I own and co-own 2 LLCs and am president of Doggies for Dementia Foundation. I know the me in the white coat in the clinic never imagined being a business owner much less of three different ones! Photography is still a huge part of my life, and as I age I recognize the healing powers of nature. You’ll see more and more of flower and other nature photography in Carmen’s Legacy Productions.
The implication of One Day, One Idea and One Person Can Change the World is that I do this alone. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am the one here typing, recording, editing, photographing… and I have a team, Doggies for Dementia’s Executive Growth Team, friends, colleagues, fellow supporters for those impacted by dementia and those directly impacted who guide our mission. I have a wonderful husband who loves me on the joyful and the difficult days. Sparky, our Chief Canine Officer is pure light in our world.
“How did Doggies for Dementia come about?” is a common question. I wanted to spend some time briefly sharing my personal history and how Doggies for Dementia was born. Perhaps it’ll serve as inspiration to someone who needs it today.
About Doggies for Dementia: Doggies for Dementia is a 501c3 corporation with a mission to provide beautiful experiences and memories for those impacted by dementia using photography. We are also advocates with sights on raising awareness through education, so nobody has to experience the pain of stigma, isolation and loneliness. Experts Dig in with Doggies for Dementia is our program with interesting and informative interviews with experts from all realms including family members and professional caregivers. Grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair and join us!