Dementia is the loss of memory and other mental abilities that occurs in some people as they age. Past the age of 85, up to 50% of the elderly are affected by some type of dementia, many Alzheimer’s.

Dementia is incredibly difficult on the person experiencing it. Most people recognize that it can be frustrating to forget where you placed your keys of to call someone by the wrong name, but they don’t understand the emotional toll it can take on the person especially as the memory degradation progresses. Dementia patients are forced to watch themselves decline, gradually losing more and more of their memories, their connections with those around them, and often they come to feel like a burden to the family who steps up to care for them.

The stress on caregivers who help loved ones with Dementia is especially trying. As time progresses their loved one is able to complete fewer and fewer tasks for themselves and hard decisions over which portions of their lives they can control have to be made. When do you take away their drivers license? Their car? Are they okay to make their own meals? To live alone? Are they remembering to eat? To take medications for other medical problems?

Largely, Dementia patients see little reprieve from their symptoms. Once on-set begins, they gradually decline over time. In the most common type of Dementia, Alzheimer’s, the standard timeline from on-set to death is only 7-10 years.

With the unique challenges that come with caring for a loved one with Dementia, we highly recommend you use local resources such as In-Home respite care from companies such as Visiting Angels, Adult Day Care Centres, and Meals on Wheels.