Alzheimer's

The prospect of Alzheimers disease is terrifying for anyone, but for a carer who is caring for a loved one as their illness progresses, the process can be heartbreaking. There are an estimated 342,800 people living with dementia in Australia today, and around 1.2 million people directly involved in the care of an Alzheimers sufferer. This means that over 5% of Australia’s population is directly affected by this disease, and this figure is only increasing. While there is no cure for Alzheimers, there are ways to make the life of a carer that little bit easier, allowing them to focus on spending quality time with their loved one. Continue reading →

Throughout the decade in which I cared for my father, who had Alzheimer's disease, he was hospitalized several times. Each and every stay was a complete nightmare. I could easily name several reasons for these trials but the one I would like to focus on here is this: it's impossible to simply look at someone and tell they have cognitive disabilities. Due to this fact, my father was regularly mistaken for "just another patient." Continue reading →