dangle & dot
About Us
Welcome to dangle & dot!
We are so glad you are here to join us on a new journey with dementia! We feel we can change the negative image and stigma of dementia by creating a social enterprise that is ran by people actually living with and caring for people living with dementia. What better way to rewrite perceptions of people living with dementia than to provide them opportunity to live, work and play in a new way. A chance for them to “dangle” with new ideas and “dot” a new path for the care partner team.
And we start this concept with ourselves!
As co-founders living with dementia in our own lives, we are daring to do something different for dementia by launching this social enterprise. We want to empower and support people living with dementia by talking about it in a new and uplifting way.
Why We Want to Help You…
We, co-founders Nancy Nelson and Kat Hartley, believe in the power of an embraced, supported dementia community and the growing statisitics and negative stigma of dementia makes this discussion a poignant one.
Meet dangle:
Nancy, shocked and teetering near fear by her diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s in 2013, immediately, in the early morning darkness, began writing down words and phrases coming to her from the sky. This phenomenon helped her to understand her father’s dementia journey and her own. Re-stirred feelings joined old ones when a second diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment came in 2018. Since her diagnosis, she’s published three books of poetry, chronicling her personal journey, titled Blue. River. Apple. She also serves as an Alzheimer’s advocate, speaking to large groups at education and public policy events, participates in dementia research and passionately leads many early stage dementia support groups. Nancy continues to live an active dynamic life with her family as her care partners. She is our dangle!
Meet dot:
Kat, in every decade of her life, has ridden the paralyzing, emotional and financial rollercoaster of stress, fear and grief while losing seven relatives to Alzheimer’s Disease. The lessons and loss of her joyous father from dementia, inspires her daily to help others. Kat, a pharmacist, has dedicated her professional career to advancing Alzheimer’s research, treatments and care. She began her career at the US Food and Drug Administration and now works as a brain health professional promoting a healthy lifestyle as a way to prevent or delay dementia. Kat passionately volunteers as an Alzheimer’s advocate for the Alzheimer’s Association. And now, through the seasoned lens of experience, finds great joy, reward and honor as a family care partner for her mother and brother. She is our dot!
Why Our Name?
Our name dangle & dot was inspired by Nancy discovering she was accidentally wearing two, mismatched earrings. She enjoyed her family’s reaction and comments so much so, that she intentionally began to wear two different earrings. She playfully relished the reaction of people who noticed and let her know that something was “amiss” and also those who quietly observed, looking puzzled, yet refrained from comment.
One shiny day, while bumping into Kat at an Alzhiemer’s event, Nancy emphatically exclaimed, “we must do something as a sign, a silent message about dementia with these mismatched earrings!” The synergy of the moment struck both of them with such passion to try to “dare to do something different” (a favorite phrase of Kat’s Dad) for people living with dementia.
Then, after much girl talk, it was decided a “dangle” style of earring would represent those living with dementia and a solid “dot” would represent the dementia care partner, giving name to a fun, new way to describe life with dementia …. dangle & dot.