Let This be a Symphony

To close Lewy Body Dementia Awareness Month, we’re sharing a short film co-created with our friend—advocate and educator—Brother John-Richard Pagan.

Diagnosed at 47 with Lewy body dementia, John-Richard is a Puerto Rican, openly gay U.S. military veteran whose leadership is reshaping how this type of young-onset dementia is seen and supported. In this reel, we follow him as he prepares to deliver a keynote at the 2023 Mayo Clinic Conference on Brain Health & Dementia.

He hears what too many across the dementia spectrum do: “You don’t look like you have dementia. You don’t sound like you have dementia. Do you actually have dementia?” What we rarely see are the rhythms, strategies, accommodations, and care that make daily life—along with public speaking and travel—possible. Every person’s path is different. This is John-Richard’s.

Collaborating with him—behind the scenes and in regular Zooms—keeps reshaping how we understand Lewy Body Dementia and how we show up as citizens in our ever-changing world. Thank you, dear friend. 

For more information about LBD, visit the Lewy Body Dementia Association: lbda.org

Video created by Let This Be a Symphony— media advocacy initiative launched by Michelle Memran transforming how dementia is portrayed in the media.

Director: Michelle Memran
Editor: Jacqui Wedewer
Producer: Tiffany Fisher-Love
Cinematography: Brennan Vance, Michelle Memran

Special thanks: Angela Lunde, Julia Wood

Here is one story. Let’s tell them all. Let This Be a Symphony. 💙