The Journey of a Husband Diagnosed With Early Stage Dementia
Posted by Donna Mae Scheib on August 08, 2017
The Journey of a Husband Diagnosed With Early Stage Dementia
This is the second part of my two-part blog about a husband and wife couple sharing their insights about their individual journeys after a diagnosis of early stage Alzheimer’s. This blog is about Bob’s experiences, in his own words, after his diagnosis.
"I was diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s over 7 years ago. What I am finding is that for the most part I live in what we call a dementia friendly community. I am certified golf instructor for our local UA golf course and I teach classes at our local Employment and Education Program about how to write resumes and how to interview. I have freely shared my diagnosis and what I find is that the volunteers and staff with whom I contact, accept me for who I am, and realize that they simply need to speak a little bit slower and be a little extra patient.
In general, I find that when I explain to people in my community that I have Alzheimer’s, I’m treated with the same dignity and respect as you [would a] “normal” [person], even though I live in a world that we call the “new normal.” Some people I encounter are surprised. I think they expected someone with Alzheimer’s to be relatively incoherent and drooling out of the sides of their mouths.
I am very lucky in that I can continue to navigate my community with some confidence, while still being a positive contributor to its welfare. In short, I try and help, to continue to educate my community about Alzheimer’s, and this education leads to awareness. And this overall community awareness of how I should be treated should help me to keep my independence and sense of self-worth.”
Thank you, Bob, for sharing your experiences with us and reminding us that there are many stages of Alzheimer’s disease and that an early diagnosis need not be debilitating.
My purpose of sharing both Bob and Juanita’s stories is twofold. I hope that their heartfelt and sincere words give us a better understanding of life after a diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s dementia. And to spark a discussion and a general interest to ask how to make our communities more dementia friendly so the Juanita’s and Bob’s feel supported and their quality of lives maintained, or better yet, increased for the better.
I encourage you to share these blogs, love it, and leave comments. Let’s get discussing…