Ideas & Visit from Age UK

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/

After seeing Douglas for the first time, I began to think about some specific things he said. He told me he had a dog, although when I asked him the name, he gave me 4 different ones, so I'm not sure what i'd do. Maybe a dog with no name? Something along those lines. All I know is I want it to feel old, it must have something to do with how people see people with dementia and tell them they need help!

Also we had a visit from some patients from Age UK who are in the early stages of dementia, they told us about their lives and had kindly made a timeline with pictures form their life, showing how they grew up, their partners, children, careers and everyday life. They also began to explain how the signs of dementia creeped up on them, and how devastating it can be to their lives. One woman told us how she'd be driving, and forget where she was going - something simple which can happen to all of us, and it became more frequent and more intense and got to the point where she had no idea where she was, and became panicked, and then was diagnosed with dementia. They are all lovely, characteristic people and I think we need to realise even though they are sick with an illness which causes them to forget themselves, they are still the people we love and care about and are still the same person.

It was an emotional talk, and I think it really moved us all, and gave us a lot of heart to put into our work, something which i think, is most important.