DEMENTIA SUPPORT
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She suffered two serious health events this past winter, a clear indicator that something had to change. “My doctor said that I had to step back. It was hard to hear that because I felt like I was being selfish. But he was right. I had to start putting myself first.” At long last, she did just that. First, Nolin got counselling at the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba. Then, she joined an Alzheimer’s support group. “I got a wonderful life support coordinator, Amanda, at the Alzheimer Society,” says Nolin. “She listened to me, provoked thought
my life,” Nolin says. “She was basically living through me. The care was almost 24/7, and she called me 20 times a day. It was extremely demanding looking after her finances, medical needs and daily living needs.” And while she knew she needed to educate herself better about dementia and Alzheimer’s, she just didn’t have the energy to reach out after a long day of caregiving. “On some level, I knew there were resources. I was just too tired to call.” Eventually – as is often the case with sole caregivers – the relentless workload took its toll on Nolin.
“I always had a close relationship with her. We were very tight, and she relied on me for everything,” she says. “So I thought taking care of her would be a natural transition.” That wasn’t the case. For starters, Marianne felt like she was on her own because the medical system provided little or no information on how to deal with a family member suffering from dementia. Before long, she found herself struggling to cope with someone whose cognitive abilities were seemingly eroding daily. “Being her caregiver took over
11 WARNING SIGNS OF DEMENTIA
1 Memory loss that affects day-to-day abilities. 2 Difficulty performing familiar tasks. 3 Problems with language. 4 Disorientation to time and place. 5 Impaired judgment. 6 Problems with abstract thinking. 7 Misplacing things. 8 Changes in mood & behaviour. 9 Changes in personality. 10 Loss of initiative; being passive or disinterested. 11 Challenges understanding visual and spatial information.
20 MATURE
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