Saturday 31 March 2012

Dementia, my Mum and Me

Good Morning  
I have been caring for my wee mum Joan for nearly 5 years now. As a son I struggle to witness on a daily basis Dementia doing its best to try and take away the greatness in my mum
I stand beside my mum fighting to stop dementia taking its toll on me also, I was sitting the other day having a rare private quiet moment and thought what has happened to us The last 5  years seem lost in the fog of dementia and caring our life’s have stood still in so many ways. What happened to us to  my kind hard working helpful thoughtful mum we like most of the people who face dementia have become isolated from friends ,family and society And I believe the reason for this along with the struggles dementia brings is that wider society has no understanding ,many professionals have to little understanding .Last year when I started my campaign ,a campaign that is a cry for help ,and to ask the question why do we live like this why does no one understand ,I was shocked to find so many people facing greater struggles than us .How could that be how can people be facing greater challenges than us .that shocked me I though we had it bad till I started meeting and collecting letters from others
We as a society have to start talking about dementia and caring, I feel dementia has to be discussed in a new way, we as a society have to ask question and learn more
The numbers facing dementia will only increase that’s why I collect life stories, nothing will change until the wider public start learning and talking about dementia
I don’t want anyone in the future to face the struggles we and too many people I meet face
Dementia brings with it many heartbreaking and tragic things we at this time cannot change, but we can change attitudes, understanding and awareness
Help me raise awareness share your story for me to take to parliament when I return on may 8th ,help others who will face what we face or have faced in the past
Do not suffer alone or in silence .At this time we have no cure for dementia but we can cure systems, attitudes and understanding
Tommy  

1 comment:

  1. What you have just said on your Blog can also be applied to myself and others looking after a child at home with severe Autism.My child who cannot speak and relies on me for everything on a daily basis has this condition through no fault of his own and he will be an adult in a few years time so can relate fully with you and your plight. All we really need is more recognition and support from those out there including the parliament.Its not easy to do this type of care as you feel so helpless at times.

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