G8 Dementia so many unanswered questions - so many broken hearts

Hi

So last week we had the G8 Dementia Summit and below is a brief outline of promises and I think predictions 

What I did not hear was any discussion or answers to the questions we asked each day whilst caring for mum ,from the letters I recive ,from the people I meet 

Another day another announcement of what might be, and there is a theme ,we need policies and strategies ,but how many times do the ideas or promises come knocking on your door ? 

In my experience not often enought 

We need a reality  check on dementia and the impact it has on families ,less talk ,less rhetoric more action ,kindness understanding door reaching  and support for families is what we really need 

Below is a letter I Recived a few months ago and none of the answers or promises seem to  answer the questions below from the G8 summit , it means nothing to me Oh Vienna 

Dear Tommy - March 2013 

I am writing to see if anything can be done to help Us 

I am 80 years of age and my husband almost 77 years old and he suffers from VASCULAR DEMENTIA and life is very tough for me as his carer.  He is in the middle stages of Dementia.

As said I am finding it very tough and there is no one to share and help me get through.  I feel so low at times and so VERY LONELY – I NEED a human listening ear and also an understanding one.

Family do not seem to understand – only the person or the carer who lives with  dementia  knows what it is like.

We have been married 53 years and had a very happy marriage until my husband took dementia now I Am  LOSING MY  MARRIAGE AND LOSING  MY HUSBAND.

PLEASE CAN ANYONE DO ANYTHING – TO HELP US .

Yours truly

Summit round up 

At this week’s G8 summit on Dementia, called by the UK as part of its presidency, health and science leaders agreed a package of measures to address the growing global health, social and economic issue of the condition. Currently 36 million people across the world have dementia and the World Health Organisation predicts that numbers will nearly double every two decades.

The commitments made this week by the G8 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and USA included;

• setting an ambition to identify a cure or a disease-modifying therapy for dementia by 2025 – backed by a commitment to together significantly increase the amount spent on dementia research and increase the number of people involved in clinical trials and studies on dementia;
• a new Global Envoy for Dementia Innovation, following in the footsteps of global envoys on HIV and Aids and on Climate Change – the Global Envoy will bring together international expertise to stimulate innovation and co-ordinate international efforts to attract new sources of finance, including exploring the possibility of a new private and philanthropic fund to support global dementia innovation;
• developing an international action plan for research – in particular to identify current gaps and how to fill them; sharing information and data from dementia research studies across the G8 countries to work together and get the best return on investment in research; and
• encouraging open access to all publicly-funded dementia research to make data and results available for 
• further research as quickly as possible.