A place to belong
Two people coping with a diagnosis defined by loss have found a sense of community with others dealing with the same reality.
Ted Normanton and Lyn Gillum attend a day programme for mild to moderate dementia sufferers in New Plymouth, which is run by Alzheimers Taranaki.
Gillum’s diagnosis came after she suffered a series of strokes, which left her with minor brain damage.
‘‘My thinking and doing and that was getting slower and my brain wasn’t working properly.’’
Getting the Alzheimer’s diagnosis followed a debilitating stroke decades earlier at the age of 43, which left her needing to learn how to walk and talk again.
‘‘I thought ‘oh no, not something else, I’ve had enough’,’’ the now 70-year-old said.
But support from Alzheimers Taranaki kicked in straight away, along with an invitation to attend the day programme about 12 months ago.
‘‘It just all happened from there and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done,’’ the mother-of-three said.
In Normanton’s case, his family started to notice a change in his behaviour. He was doing things which were completely out of character for him and in his words, becoming ‘‘aggro’’.
He was referred to a psychiatrist and underwent a rigorous testing regime before the formal dementia diagnosis was made by a visiting specialist.
‘‘He left me with the words ‘plan for the worst and hope for the best’,’’ the 68-year-old said.
The day programme had offered Normanton a ‘‘feeling of belonging.’’
The former teacher, who has attended for the past nine months, said it was a place to make new friends, socialise and build up his confidence again.
‘‘The team is excellent here. You feel the aroha,’’ Normanton said.
Gillum said having to rely on other people was still hard to accept but maintaining a positive attitude through her lifechanging diagnosis had helped.
‘‘You’ve got to keep happy and make the most of what you’ve got. You’ve just got to learn to accept it,’’ she said.
Alzheimers Taranaki provides a range of free services in the region and the day programme is available in New Plymouth and Ha¯ wera.
Ana Parkes, manager of Alzheimers Taranaki, said sitting aside its existing services was the recently created role of community educator. This joins a new programme called Living Well with Memory Loss, which is funded by the Taranaki District Health Board and designed to support people with a recent dementia diagnosis, she said.
The organisation is fundraising towards a move to bigger premises in New Plymouth, which would be a hub for its administration, programmes and support services.
For more information about the service call 0800 004 001 or 06 769 6916.