Gail Weatherill, RN CAEd*, The Dementia Nurse
*Board-certified Alzheimer’s Educator
Best-Selling Author of The Caregiver’s Guide to Dementia
Co-founder of the Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregivers Support Group
THIS IS ME
I’m Gail Weatherill, RN CAEd, aka The Dementia Nurse. I’ve been a Registered Nurse for over forty years, and I’m just getting started. I live to serve those with dementia and the families who love them. I do this through social media, my Caregiver Co-op, and my book, The Caregiver’s Guide to Dementia: Practical Advice for Caring for Yourself and Your Loved One. My philosophy is that a day that I don’t make a tiny difference in the world by being here is a day wasted.
Dementia is the most brutal condition I’ve encountered in my career. When dementia comes knocking, people need more than prescriptions and a return appointment in three months. By sharing my knowledge and insight, I guide clients to hope and understanding they didn’t know was possible.
MY MISSION
My aim is two-fold.
- to lead caregivers to new ways to find the heart of their loved one with brain failure. I want caregivers to find the loved one who is “still in there” but unable to communicate selfhood in the ways we are used to
- to empower caregivers to be effective advocates in broken healthcare systems. I want every caregiver to know their family member is getting the best care possible.
MY WHY
Today’s healthcare system is not the system I proudly entered in 1980. Red tape and the push for profit have replaced compassion and common sense. Watching this decline has been soul-crushing.
Twenty-five years ago, I fell in love with caring for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. I love their raw emotion and lack of guile. I found I could communicate with their hearts after language failed.
The world is clueless of the toll on family members caring for a loved one with dementia. If any group has suffered from the fracturing of our healthcare system, it is those with dementia and the caregivers who love them.
I can’t fix the system, but I can guide families through it, so they know their loved one has the best care possible. At the end of the day, I can’t imagine anything more rewarding.
Stumping for Improved Nurse Staffing, US Capitol, Washington DC
MY TRACK RECORD
Medical Intensive Care Nurse for seventeen years at Duke University and the University of Virginia
Intensive Care Head Nurse for three years in the mountains of Saudi Arabia
Director of Home Health
Private Duty Geriatric Care Manager
Director of Nursing, combined Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing community
Recipient of The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses National “Excellence in Caring Practices” for my work with dying patients in the ICU
I cared for my dad who lived with vascular dementia the last six years of his life.
I cofounded a private Facebook group for dementia caregivers in 2016. We currently serve over 56k members from over 100 countries. The need cannot be overstated.
THE REST OF THE STORY
I met my late husband in Saudi Arabia, a Scot who resembled Robert Conrad. Between the looks and the accent, I never had a chance.
I live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with a Maine Coon cat named Ollie.
I have two grown daughters who live entirely too far away from their mother.
I’m a quilter. My favorite projects are fidget quilts tailored to someone with dementia.
I’m rabid about college football. My favorite team is whoever is playing Alabama (with all due respect to the Tide).
