Dementia carers get helping hand
Suzy McPhail has witnessed it firsthand – dementia carers close to burnout as they work around the clock, often with no true respite.
McPhail, who became a carer herself when her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and has since cared for many others, has sung at the funerals of carers who died of desolation, she said, and seen others ‘‘fall through the cracks’’ with depression and illness.
She’s seen enough. McPhail has launched the Restore Lecture Series – a series of motivational lectures that aim to help carers whose partner, or loved one, with dementia, has gone into fulltime care.
‘‘This is something that is purely for the carer and to move on with life in a beautiful way,’’ McPhail said.
She said the process of caring for your partner with the illness was so traumatic, ‘‘often partners get sick themselves … and they struggle because it’s so awful to see their partner fade away’’.
An estimated 62,000 people were living with dementia in
2016, costing the Government
$1.7 billion. By 2050, this will rise to 170,000 people, at an expected cost of $5 billion.
On the first Friday of every month, a series of positive and motivational lectures will showcase uplifting speakers with different skills and ideas, such as meditation, exercise and theatre, to help inspire carers to lead an energised life.
Denise Irvine is one of them. The former Waikato Times feature and food writer lost her husband, Bill, three years ago to dementia, yet adapting to ‘‘cook for one’’ was a challenge in itself.
‘‘Suddenly there’s just you at home, and you are completely downsizing and changing the way you eat and cook,’’ Irvine said.
Despite how tired you may feel, instead of having ‘‘egg on toast’’, the simple act of cooking a lovely dinner to ‘‘treat yourself at the end of the day’’ was important.
‘‘Look after yourself and feed yourself well,’’ she said.
There’s that perception, she said, that when someone goes into care it will get easier, but it doesn’t.
‘‘I’ve experienced that crushing and absolutely heartbreaking period, the first six months when Bill went into care is just a blur.’’
The lectures are held at The Workshop, Panama Square on Garden Place in Hamilton from 10am-noon for a $5 donation. Bookings are essential, please email suzy_mcphail@hotmail.com or phone 0274 58 7262