My friend Harry Urban, living with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis since January 2004, has been one of my primary mentors. For more than two decades, Harry has shown what it can mean to accept life as it IS, live in the moment, stay involved through creative projects, and keep dementia symptoms in perspective rather than letting them become the whole of life.
Harry carries a Lantern for those of us Living with Dementia symptoms — a “heads-up” to dangers expected, but also to unexpected blessings.
I think these two pieces from Harry illustrate this beautifully: his February 2026 reflection on partnering with the changes dementia brings, and his August 2025 reminder that living with dementia is still about what we make of life.
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Last night we had a Memory Cafe and were talking about how dementia makes changes in are life and how we react to it. My purpose is to give them Hope and suggestions on how to partner with these changes and live a happy life. …
The transgression of becoming a passenger from a driver can be dramatic, but so can so many of the changes that we are forced to make while living with dementia. Forgetting to feed the dog or taking out the trash-on-trash day is annoying but something that is expected because of our disease.
The changes that we face in the quality of our life are the hardest to face. We may need assistance in doing the simplest tasks like getting dressed or maybe eating. I would be hard pressed to change a flat tire or change oil in the car. Things I did thousands of times before without giving them a thought.
The list of things I can no longer do is growing and some might contribute to the normal aging process, but I think it is my inability to concentrate and follow directions. Many of the household repairs are now out of my ability like electrical or plumbing repairs.
I like to think of these times as my golden years. I worked hard all my life, now I am forced to relax and let someone else do the work. Maybe this is how my life was supposed to be.
Harry’s FaceBook page holds the above update at this link on 11Feb2026 >> https://www.facebook.com/harry.urban1/posts/pfbid0X6g7FWQ3pfZ5oDzfESyUtdp3AWoPhWBUx26QcGhUX1BHJE6sv6ohwkF99KGpH4yFl << .
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[[ … Tru here again. i think Harry’s update from 01Aug2025 is appropriate here, originally shared at his FaceBook page >> https://www.facebook.com/harry.urban1/posts/pfbid0PDrEQyytHsHE9ssRqAcfEUvdzuCp8c2GTKABiJUUvxxtvCiRD7kxRMEuV1xvYNtwl << . ]]
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Living with Dementia is All About What You Make of It:
Do you have the ability to walk through life with a skip in your steps? Go with the flow and roll with the punches. Most of us don’t because we get so wrapped up in the day-to-day activities and miss out on the silly side of life.
I use a cane for balance so obviously you just see a wobble and not a skip unless you look into my eyes. There you will see the skip I am talking about and maybe even the mischief I carry in my life.
I love being alive regardless of what Alzheimer’s throws my way. I get down some days, but when I’m not, I have no time to feel sorry for myself. I want more out of my life besides a person living with dementia.
I want to fly to the moon and climb the highest mountain. I want to do the things that someone living with dementia is not supposed to be able to do. I want to convince you that there is life after your diagnosis and put a skip into your step.
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Harry reminds us that dementia changes life — but it does not take away our ability to choose how we live the life that remains.
Harry’s index page is at https://truthfulkindness.com/index-persons-with-dementia-pwd/harry-urban/.
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* Library Notes — This page is part of the Library – Voices of People Living with Dementia at TruthfulKindness.com. It has been prepared by Truthful Loving Kindness (Truthful Kindness) to help preserve pathways to the writings and lived experiences of people living with dementia. * Unless otherwise indicated, the words above are those of the original author. Copyright remains with the respective author or their estate. My introductory comments and editorial notes are Copyright © Truthful L. Kindness, 2026 (w/4hrs on text). * If you have comments about my page, please use the comment section below. Questions regarding the original author or original publication should be directed to the original source whenever possible. * Nothing in this page is intended as medical or legal advice. The purpose of this library is educational: to help preserve, organize, and share the lived experiences of people living with dementia. * . *** … If there are advertisements on this page, I have no control over what is shown.
*** tags: acceptance, adapt, alzheimers, change, dementia, Harry Urban, hope, living with dementia, person with dementia, quality of life; ******* Add to Pgs/ HU index, S&S Categ: Choices, Hope, Purpose
