I have always considered myself so fortunate to work in the area of dementia. It has taught me, and continues to teach me so much about life. It is a unique position to be beside people who are undergoing a significant decline in their thinking and functioning. To be able to talk to them about things that happened many years ago, to learn, to listen, to care, to share – even if that person does not remember my name in a second – has provided some wonderful life experiences.

But I must admit, it is the people who stand beside them that really teach me. It is they that have taught me every thing I have ever known about living with dementia. I have, with great humility, shared the experiences of wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, partners and friends as they live their journey. It is they who have the knowledge, they who have learnt through the schools of hard knocks with incredible, fortitude and perseverance. They, who have so generously passed on the messages to me, so that I can pass them on to service providers through development and training.

Following a diagnosis of dementia, the path for people living with this illness is often unclear and certainly unchartered; Dealing with the challenges of the initial diagnosis, the shock, the grief, the pain and yet attempting to live life with maximum purpose and meaning. Dementia has often been referred to as the “funeral that never ends” as carers witness the decline of their partner, their mother or father, their loved one or their friend; watching the person they love deteriorate in such a pervasive way and at the same time deal with the grief of loss which has no ending. From these experiences as well as those now infiltrating my personal life, I have learnt much about dementia, humanity and life. I now attempt, with great humility, to incorporate these lessons and experiences in what I now attempt to pass on to others, through education, training, and project work.

(From forward to A Carers Guide, Helping you care for someone with Alzheimer’s or other dementias by Rosette Teitel and Sharon Wall)

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