Just a small, personal column: I am regularly confronted with Alzheimer Nederland signs along the road, or at least I think so, about dementia. That it is the fastest rising cause of death, that it affects one in three women and one in seven men. I find that extremely unpleasant.
First and foremost: dementia deserves attention and the fight against the disease deserves all the generous gifts someone can spare. It is also good to draw attention to how you as an environment recognize dementia and can best deal with it. That ‘commercial’ of that wandering man on the street, who is supposed to explain to people how to recognize dementia? Top! Extremely useful.
But that message that it affects one in seven people: what should I do with that? My mother had dementia. This was initially characterized by mild forgetfulness and declining motor skills, which made walking difficult.
Later it was a real ordeal, during which nothing was left of the mentally strong woman who was my mother. A pathetic bunch of people in a wheelchair, where you had no idea what was still getting through to her and what she still realized about her situation and what not. My parents still lived independently, but my father was unable to provide her with the care she needed. It was a very difficult time, until she got pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital and nursing home. Her death felt a bit like a liberation, a strange feeling next to the sadness you have.
And I am reminded every time by those signs along the road, which also gently remind me that I can get it myself and that the chance is increasing because the disease is gaining ground. It’s one of the worst nightmares I have, the fear of that disease.
I don’t really know what the point of that is, always reminding myself of that. You can’t look away either: the signs along the road are unavoidable.
Should this make me give more generously? Don’t know. It just makes me feel bad.
2023-09-27 13:56:29
#Confronting #reality #dementia #personal #column #Kees #Bakker
