Laura Sager - South Okanagan Honouree

2024 IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer's

One evening in 2020, Laura Sager was closing the curtains in her home when she felt something grab her wrist and squeeze. She looked down and saw her forearm had turned black. When she shook her arm, the colour disappeared. Laura knew something was wrong, but it would be a year before she was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia – a form of dementia characterized by abnormal deposits of a protein that form inside the brain’s nerve cells. The disease affects thinking and movement; it can also cause hallucinations.

“The diagnosis confirmed my suspicions,” Laura says. “To me, that’s just the way it is. You accept it and move forward.”

Among Laura’s large family – five generations Penticton – she’s known for her sense of humour and positive outlook on life, traits that haven’t waned since going on the dementia journey. Whether at family gatherings with more than 50 people, including her two daughters, Tina and Annette, or at an Alzheimer Society of B.C. support group, her unfaltering positivity and humour are appreciated.

“When my grandkids are asked who makes them laugh the most, they all say, ‘Grandma,’” Laura says. “I like to have fun.”

Her attitude extends to an openness with members of her support group, who love hearing about Laura’s hallucinations – visions she experiences with more curiosity than fear.

“I tell them stories like the one night when I sensed something on my pillow, looked up and saw three chickens with their heads bopping up and down walking near my headboard,” Laura says. “When I woke up in the morning, I looked for eggs but couldn’t find any!”

Laughing with her peers in the support group helps everyone connect and feel comfortable sharing their own experiences. When questions about Lewy body dementia come up, the group facilitator suggests members talk to Laura.

“She sees me as the expert,” Laura says. “I want to share my story so people can learn more about the disease.”

Adjusting to changes from the disease hasn’t always been easy. Laura tries to take things one day at a time. She understands that she can’t change her situation, but does what she can to help herself and others around her, including making financial and legal arrangements, so her children will know what she wants and where to find important information later on in the journey. And while Laura continues to offer her help to other people living with dementia, she has also stopped driving and learned to accept help from others to get her where she needs to go.

“I can tell I’m declining but I try to stay positive,” Laura says. “I think receiving help from my family has brought us closer together.”

Laura hopes that by sharing her story, more people will learn what Lewy body dementia is to better support people living with it. She feels grateful for her family and the patient, kind community she’s lucky enough to live in. Like anyone, Laura struggles some days more than others. It’s her relentless positivity and sense of humour that gets her through the hard moments.

“I call my brain ‘The Rubik’s Cube,’” Laura says. “When I’m stuck, things go ‘click-click-click’ and then The Rubik’s Cube comes together. I’m not hiding anything from anybody.”

Join Laura on Sunday, May 26 for the South Okanagan IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer's.