Carers Link, Back To Talk with Good Friends Today

Hi

Going over to talk at/with the carers link blether group in Milgavie today, the group have been great supporters of my awareness campaign .This is my 3^rd visit over  the last year and some of the group traveled to Parliament with me last November when I handed over letters and showed the film

I will update more later this morning when I get home

Tommy

Deputy First Minister, Thank You

Hi

A big thank to the deputy first minister for inviting me for a catch up and a quick chat at the conference on Saturday ,also thanks to all the other people who have tweeted to arrange to meet to say hello and have a quick chat about dementia awareness

I look forward to seeing everyone as I drop in for a few hours while my mum attends her day care

Tommy

Today at St. Margaret of Scotland Hospice

Hi

A wee bit disappointed in my talk today, I kind of lost my way a little and hope anyone who attended will forgive me for getting a wee bit emotional and mixed up. Earlier today my mum and I attended the funeral of my cousin and i had many things going through my mind before going up to talk. The sadness of saying goodbye to a family member along with meeting friends an family, many of whom we have not seen in such a long time played heavy on my mind..As a son and carer you disguise the effects watching a mum you love succumb to all that dementia brings has on you And today was one of the days I could not hide the sadness in losing a cousin,witnessing my mums daily struggle with dementia and my daily struggle to be a good son and carer

Sorry if my talk was a wee bit back to front, but most days feel back to front just now

Tommy

Speaking Today at St. Margaret of Scotland Hospice,,,,,,,,,,,

Hi

I will be a guest speaker today at an event attended by 80 Palliative Care Practitioners at St. Margaret of Scotland Hospice, with thanks to Jacqui for getting in touch to invite me and for also shifting the time I speak around as I have a funeral to attend today

I will post more details about the event when I get home

Tommy  

Amazing Young girl ………………….

Good evening

As with a few days ago when I met with an amazing young man, I met with an amazing young girl today who wanted to meet and  talk to me about her mum,

She is 23 now and her mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s when she was only 13, It was a privilege to meet her and hear about her mum,

I salute the love they both have and share the heartbreak the feel, They have both cemented in my heart the need to raise positive awareness and thats what  I will continue to do

I will be speaking tomorrow at a Hospice to 80 palliative care practitioners then on Friday back over to Milgavie to meet great supporters  of my campaign at the Carers Link Blether group

Tommy

Inspiration amongst the Heartbreak……………………….

I feel privileged, as a son, carer and awareness campaigner that so many people send me letters and e mails on a daily basis

In those letters there are issue, fears, heartbreak and complaints, but to me they are love stories many tinged by tragedy; we as a society can change the stories .we can change the issues that families face. At this time we can’t change the ending completely as there is no cure, but we can change so many other parts of the story

We can be more understanding we can supply better care, we can help keep peoples life more of a love story and less of a tragedy if we put certain things in place to help them

The letters and e mails highlight problems and issues, but to me they are love stories, that’s we care, we care because we love,

i get many letters and e mails from people much younger than I facing the journey dementia brings

I met a brave young man two days ago who wanted to chat to me about his mum he is only 27 and today I am meeting another young lady of 23 who has asked to meet me to talk about her mum

So I will go back to the heading on the top of this page, they INSPIRE me to keep going, and I share the HEARTBREAK they face

Tommy

Motion Edinburgh city council today

With thanks to Maureen child and all who passed

Tommy

Services Provided to Carers of those Suffering from Dementia – Motion by Councillor Child

Councillor Child had submitted the following motion in terms of Standing Order 28:

“Committee recognises the inspirational efforts of Tommy Whitelaw in raising awareness of the issues effecting the carers and families of people suffering from Dementia through his "Tommy on Tour" campaign, supported by Alzheimer's Scotland.

Committee therefore agrees to set-up a Cross Party Working Group to engage with carers and to ensure that the services provided to carers are appropriate to the needs of the carers and those suffering from Dementia.”

Decision

1)      To recognise the inspirational efforts of Tommy Whitelaw in raising awareness of the issues affecting the carers and families of people suffering from dementia through his “Tommy on Tour” campaign, supported by Alzheimer’s Scotland.

2)      To ask the Director of Health and Social Care to report back on the issue of dementia to the next meeting of the Committee.

Tommy on tour motion passed Edinburgh city council

Hi

With thanks to Maureen Childs and all who supported the motion based on my campaign and report with at Edinburgh city council today to get a report on dementia to the next Committee

Maureen contacted me a while back to chat about the campaign and we met last week ,when I handed over a report and details on the letters

Will update when I get full details

Tommy

Care Inspectorate Meeting Yesterday ………………….

hi 

I had a meeting with the care inspectorate yesterday and they have asked me to arrange a day to meet with carers to hear about life caring for a loved one

This is great opportunity to meet and discuss issues that arise whilst caring for a loved one

I feel its important to hear from carers in person to help them understand the reasons we face difficulties or in some cases crisis points

 i will post a date later and anyone who would like to attend is welcome

Tommy

Alzheimer Scotland, Sadness and Thanks

hi

Firstly I would like to thank Alzheimer Scotland for their support over some of this campaign

Without their help as a carer I would not been able to afford to travel to a lot of the groups and people i have met,

And they have helped with extra cover for my mum

This campaign started and is still run from my bedroom ,I feel the whole idea of this campaign is to give carers and families like mine a voice and feel that voice would have been Alzheimer’s Scotland’s and not the amazing carers and families like mine that I have met on this tour ,

Lately I have felt I have been compromising my views and the thousands of carer’s views who I meet and who support me

So I have made the difficult decision to refuse the carers ambassadors role offered as I did with the chair of the action group they have

I have dome this to keep my identity as a son and carer

This comes at a cost as Alzheimer Scotland will no longer support me financially (basic travel costs) or provide the extra cover I sometimes need for my mum as I raise awareness

Ultimately I have to be true to myself and the amazing carers and carer groups I try to represent

So I will continue my campaign and will have to reschedule some awareness talks as to when I can afford to or have cover for my mum

This is also distressing for my mum as I will have to find new carers to help support us

Ultimately I would rather stop campaigning than have my vioce and views distorted to suit others

Thank you all for the amazing support and Tommyontour will be at group near you soon

And thank you Alzheimer Scotland for the help you gave

Tommy

City of Glasgow College Thank you ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I was a guest speaker  last week to social care students and staff at COFGC

I have been overwhelmed by the response from the students ,please see below a wee e mail sent to me and some info on all the students and staff

tommy

We all felt so privileged to have you some to the college and present such an inspirational talk. I know that everyone I spoke to was both very moved and wanting to get involved in any way that they can. We would love to continue working with you and helping in any way we can. All the students were very excited at the prospect of doing some work with you

I'm afraid I forgot to bring my camera in today to send you the photos - I'll forward them ASAP. Here's a short bit on the students who attended:

The majority of students were NQ Social Care students who are at the early stages of developing a career in social care. Most of these students hope to progress onto the HNC in Social Care and then either employment in the care sector or progressing onto further qualifications. Your talk was scheduled to coincide with the NQ Unit on Dementia Awareness. Students also attended from HNC Social Care, Media Studies and Social Sciences. All of the students (and staff) who attended were both very moved and inspired by Tommy's presentation.

Thanks again

Hope to be in touch again soon

Scott  

Scott Morrison

Curriculum Leader