Gunnar Hagen (57) was an active businessman before he became demented. He is not allowed to participate in the activity center after he moved to an institution.
The wife thought that Gunnar Hagen (57) was burnt out. It turned out that he had dementia. Photo: Kristin Ellefsen
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(THE FRIEND OF THE FATHERLAND) – I thought he was burnt out, that he had hit the wall. Usually he worked long days, worked out, washed cars and tended the garden. But eventually he couldn’t stand anything. It was very sad to watch, Anne Lill Wæthe Hagen (55) tells Fædrelandsvennen.
Gunnar Hagen had always been an active man. In 1983 he started working in his father’s company Per Hagen Bilrekvisita. Working days could be ten to twelve hours long.
In his spare time, the businessman was busy with family and friends, slaloming, cross-country skiing and strength training.
But then it became difficult to concentrate.
– It piled up on the office desk. I had problems getting away from work, he says.
– Eventually he couldn’t take anything. It was very sad, says his wife Anne Lill Wæthe Hagen (55). Photo: Kristin Ellefsen
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High point
Gunnar Hagen was initially diagnosed with MS, but after treatment there was still something not right. He was investigated and diagnosed with the dementia disease Alzheimer’s. He was then 54 years old.
Fact
Dementia
Dementia is a serious illness, and a common term for various diseases or damage to the brain. Memory problems, difficulties with language, orientation problems and difficulties with daily tasks are common.
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At home he received good health care, and a highlight was being at the municipal activity center Kløverhagen, where there was a social community and opportunities to be active outside. He was allowed to go there several times a week.
– It was nice to be there! he exclaims.
But eventually it became too strenuous and difficult to stay at home.
Hagen is now 57 years old and has been given a permanent place at the care center Kleplandstunet at his hometown of Søgne in Kristiansand municipality.
Gunnar Hagen lives at Kleplandstunet, where he praises the employees. But he despairs that he has little to do. – I can’t use my head or body. Photo: Kristin Ellefsen
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– The days are long
After he was placed in a care centre, he is no longer allowed to participate in the activity center he enjoyed so much.
Also at the institution where Hagen lives, there is a day center for people who live at home, and which he does not attend.
The 57-year-old, on the other hand, feels that the days are long with little content.
– The people who work here are absolutely superb. I can’t rave about them enough. But there is no offer. It will be long days. Lots of series on Netflix. My body stiffens and I don’t get to use my head or body enough, says Hagen.
The image of the BMW in the room reminds of the great interest in cars. Photo: Kristin Ellefsen
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– I feel that he is getting sicker. The children and I try to take him out as often as we can, but I do not understand that it is impossible to get more services, says the wife.
She believes the municipality should have a separate building with accommodation for young people with stroke, dementia and other disabilities.
– So that people under the age of 60 are not just put away among the old. I think it is so undignified. There are some residents here he can talk to, but they are over 90 years old.
Read the response from the municipality further down in the article.
– I think it is so undignified, says Anne Lill Wæthe Hagen. Photo: Kristin Ellefsen
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– It is important to use the body
– This is unfortunately a typical example. The offer for people with young dementia is mainly not organised, and very lacking. A completely different offer is required for young people with dementia, who are often in good physical shape, than when the disease affects old people, says Tor Atle Rosness.
He has a PhD in younger people with dementia, and is a former senior adviser at the Institute of Public Health. Now he is a nursing home doctor.
– When dementia strikes at a young age, it is important to use the body actively to slow down the disease and increase the quality of life. Unfortunately, there are far too few such offers in many places. It also requires expertise. Many relatives experience great strain because they have to find out a lot themselves, says Rosness.
100,000 people in Norway have dementia, and the number will probably double by 2040, according to the National Association for Public Health.
– 5,000-6,000 people under the age of 65 have dementia in Norway, but these are probably quite large unknown numbers, says Rosness.
– Completely different man
– Fortunately, Gunnar is positive, but I think it is difficult that he is only 57 years old, but a completely different man than before. Now we soon have two grandchildren, and it wasn’t how it was supposed to be. We were an active couple at work and leisure, says his wife Anne Lill, who is co-owner of the family business Rolfs Elektro.
– It is tough to experience that he is only 57 years old, but a completely different man than before, says his wife Anne Lill Wæthe Hagen. Photo: Kristin Ellefsen
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Anne Lill Hagen says that she has asked the municipality to get a day care service for her husband.
– Young people with dementia need an offer, even if they live in an institution. This is important for those who come after us, she emphasizes.
Gunnar Hagen says that it is difficult to fill the days with content after he moved to an institution. Photo: Kristin Ellefsen
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Same offer as for the other residents
– When a person with dementia, regardless of age, is allocated a long-term place in a nursing home or in a care home/housing collective, arrangements are made for social services and physical activity at the care center where the person lives. In that case, day services intended for those who live at home are not usually allocated, says Astrid Færden Gaare, acting municipal manager of care centers in Kristiansand municipality.
She says that it is the well-being coordinator or other contact persons who organize activities at the care centres. The care centers have also employed “spreaders of joy” who contribute with activities in the summer.
– It is nevertheless completely understandable that some people may miss offers that they have previously participated in, for example a specific day care centre, says Gaare.
In 2020, it was required by law for the municipalities to have a day activity offer that is adapted to people with dementia living at home. In Kristiansand municipality, there is a special offer for younger people with dementia: Kløverhagen day and activity centre.
– For younger people with dementia who live in a round-the-clock care facility, there are no specific activities for this age group. These are the same offers as for the other residents. The staff are also concerned with looking after the individual, and what is important to the individual resident. With increasing recruitment challenges of personnel, we are dependent on good cooperation with the volunteers and relatives to achieve this, says Gaare.
A separate residential facility for younger people with dementia has been considered.
– It is natural that younger people with dementia want to share interests with other people of the same age, and that it could be positive that they were given a place in the same care centre. On the other hand, there will be residents and relatives who prefer a place close to home. Now there is not a large number of younger people with dementia who need a round-the-clock care place in our municipality. A separate residential facility for young people with dementia is therefore not currently considered appropriate, says Gaare.
2023-08-03 13:23:21
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