Our involvement with #DecodingDementia2019 has helped cement for us, the reason we created MemBo Noticeboard in the first place, and our absolute commitment since then – to help people living with dementia live more independently for longer, and with better quality of life.
Part of the opening of the Pitch we did for the Finals, was a statement in respect of my 92 year old mum who lives with Alzheimer’s dementia:
“We wanted to help keep her independence, but honestly, how can you live independently if you don’t know what’s going on in your day?”
You may have read some of my Blogs – it’s fair to say that in the last several years, my mum has vehemently resisted help from anyone but those closest, and even then at a stretch.
And from what we see, this attitude is sadly very common among people who are at a time when they need help.
I don’t think there is any doubt that my mother perceives the offer of help not as a positive contribution to her life, but rather as a threat to her independence.
That in accepting help, she will be deemed incompetent which ultimately in her mind, leads straight to residential high care.
Our intention of course, is to deliver precisely the reverse outcome for her!!
But the challenge is, how do we get her the help she needs, and importantly, how can we help her to retain her dignity in the doing?
Can we shift the thinking that almost certainly originated when her own parents were going through this same experience – ultimately winding up in a nursing home at a time when even the best residential facility wasn’t very wonderful.
Somehow, we must keep trying to get the message through that “help equals independence” and in doing so, achieve what we all want – for her to retain hr independence for as long as she can.
If you’re helping someone to maintain their independence and you think MemBo Noticeboard could help, visit our website https://www.membonoticeboard.com/ or you can email us at info@membonoticeboard.com
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