I attended all workshops except the last one. It was about dealing with them in nappies and I couldn’t handle that.
Only been weeks since we had the diagnosis and although I hadn’t cried and been strong holding it together, I made an excuse of being busy at work.
It was getting too much.
One day my dad was my hero, the next they were trying to teach me how to bathe him and put him in nappies. WTF
That said, our education didn’t stop with the north shore workshops. We also attended counselling sessions in their metro location and later I went with mum to a carers dinner and the Australian dementia library.
You do end up with a thirst for knowledge but the best relief is talking to others going through the same thing.
I’ve always felt better hearing stories from the wife that told me her husband hit her before he went in to care or funny stories.
Not that I liked violence but that it was comforting to hear worse stories than your own or how you could relate. My dad punched a carer later on and tried to bite another’s nose. Sharing war stories gets you through it.
So if you are at the end of your rope and dumbfounded by the behaviour, please join a support group. https://www.dementia.org.au
I sat down between a man and a woman and learnt more in 30 mins with them then over a dozen hours with professionals.
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What’s been helpful to you going through a loss? Solitude or talking it out?
