Life goes on after dementia diagnosis
AT JUST 55 years of age Jenni Lawson lost her identity as a person and her independence when she was diagnosed with dementia.
Ms Lawson was told she had Lowy body dementia with Parkinsonian features in late 2017 and has since endured a difficult journey to adjust to a new life filled with discrimination that started with the shock loss of her job.
“I’m a person and everybody with dementia has a background and when you are diagnosed with dementia, people often just hear the word dementia and think, ‘oh she’s not capable’,” she said.
“When you have been working all your life and you’ve travelled around the world and you’ve been independent and all of a sudden you can’t drive and you can’t work, it’s pretty shocking.”
Discrimination is at the forefront of Dementia Awareness Week this year, pushing for equal rights for those living with dementia to end the social prejudice.
The registered nurse of 36 years said she encountered discrimination at her workplace after disclosing her condition, resulting in her dismissal and the loss of her livelihood.
“I had been working with no problems and I was told you can stay in this job forever, we will always need this position,” Ms Lawson said.
“But I told my boss I had been diagnosed with dementia and basically within two weeks, I was out. Working was my identity, I was doing it since I was 17 and I hadn’t planned to retire now.”
The grandmother volunteers for The Salvation Army in a position similar to her previous role, which she says makes her still feel capable of giving back to the community.
Ms Lawson’s support worker Lachlan Street said discrimination in the workplace was not isolated, with members of the Younger On-set Dementia Group reporting the same treatment.
“The consensus at the group is that everybody has been ripped out of their jobs once they got the diagnoses but they still feel like they want to contribute,” he said.
Doctors are unsure of the direct cause of Ms Lawson’s dementia as she is not the typical stereotype prone to the disease, being female and well under the age of 65.
Dementia Australia CEO Maree Mccabe is encouraging people to fill out a national survey this week, to paint a picture of how discrimination looks like to help shift the public prejudice.
“We know, because people living with dementia tell us, that discrimination exists and that it impacts on their everyday life,” Ms Mccabe said.
“That’s why we want to tackle this head-on and we are calling on all Australians to contribute their views.”
Ms Lawson said she hoped Dementia Awareness Week would act as a reminder that people who live with dementia are still a vital part of society. “We all still offer so much to the community because one day we don’t have a diagnosis and the next day we have a diagnosis but we are still the same person,” she said.
“We come with a background and huge skills and ability and it doesn’t disappear from one day to the next.”