If you didn’t know, September is World Alzheimer’s Month. This is an international campaign designed to raise awareness of this disease and challenge the stigmas that come with it. It’s also designed to educate people on the difference between Alzheiemer’s disease and dementia.
When I was around 14, on my way home from school, I used to stop in at my local care home. My Nan worked there as an activities organiser and I occasionally liked to help her out for the last hour of the day. Initially I started just helping get things out for the activities and walking around with a biscuit tin offering all the residents a chance to dig in and have a treat at tea time.
But it progressed into so much more. I would sit and talk with the residents, sometimes having the same conversation I’d had with them for the past couple of days, but I didn’t mind. I got to know some of the most beautiful souls inside and out, and while they weren’t a true reflection of the person they once were, I knew that deep down inside they were still there and still needed to be spoken to like anybody else.
There are probably 4 residents who I will never forget. I used to help them back to their rooms, and I remember there was an actual couple in there as they’d been married for an eternity (they even had a telegram from the Queen congratulating them) and they told me all about what they’d done together and it was so incredible.
Alzheimer’s disease is a cause of dementia. It affects the parts of the brain that in turn control memory, language and thought. It causes a shortage of chemicals in the brain and here is a loss of connection between nerve cells and brain tissue.
Dementia has been defined as “a set of symptoms that may include memory loss, impaired thinking and difficulty with language and problem-solving” and this happens when the brain is damaged by diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
NRS Healthcare are a provider of disability and living aids and they’re currently working on a social campaign about bringing more awareness to all aspects of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease during World Alzheimer’s Month. Over the course of September, they’ve been releasing a fact a day about the conditions. This ranges from how many people these diseases affect and how carers can get support and what research is currently ongoing for the future.
Some of the facts they’ve given are an absolute education into the impact this disease has on everybody, whether you’ve been directly affected or have absolutely no experience of it at all.
If you want to know more about caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, or want to know more about the disease itself then you can head over to the NRS Healthcare Twitter and Facebook pages to see more about World Alzheimer’s Month and how you can get involved in raising awareness.
Join in with the hashtag #WAM2016 to keep this conversation alive during September! Let’s raise awareness of Alzheimer’s together.
*This is a collaborative post.