Sisters teach other kids about dementia
Two Stonehouse sisters who watched their great-gran go through the heartache of dementia have become the country’s youngest graduates of a training course to help reduce the stigma of the disease.
Carrie Millar (11) and her sister Elliot (10) lost Anna Goska, 88, to the illness in 2017.
When Anna was diagnosed, the sisters couldn’t understand many of the changes they saw her go through.
Their Polish-born great-gran had moved to Scotland at the end of World War II after being held in a labour camp.
When she fell ill, she started speaking only in Polish. She would often become confused and even forget who they were.
Now the sisters have become two of the youngest people to take part in Alzheimer Scotland’s Dementia Friends course.
Staff from the charity visited pupils at Stonehouse Primary School and gave advice on everything from understanding the illness to how best to interact with someone with the condition.
The girls, pictured below with depute head teacher Jane Hall, are now on a mission to raise awareness of dementia and use their knowledge to help those who need it.
Carrie said: “When I was younger, I didn’t know anything about dementia so, when I found out my great-gran had it, I used to be scared to go and visit her.
“After I took part in the Dementia Friends project, I realised that people who have dementia forget things from the past and they begin to behave differently.
“I became much less nervous going to visit my great-gran. We used to sing her songs and she seemed happy because I think she could remember them.
“When she talked about her childhood, she was happiest. Even if she was talking in Polish and we couldn’t understand, you could tell that she was really relaxed.”
Elliot added: “Taking part in Dementia Friends meant I understood what my great-gran was going through every day.
“It taught me how and why dementia happens and that it is not something to be scared of.”
About 90,000 people in Scotland are living with dementia. By 2020, it is estimated that there will be 20,000 new cases in Scotland every year.
Anne Mcwhinnie, of Alzheimer Scotland, said: “There are a lot of people living with dementia in every community in Scotland and Dementia Friends is about knowing what you can do to support them.
“We launched the programme in 2014 and have helped train more than 70,000 people.
“We are trying to raise awareness and reduce the stigma that still surrounds dementia.”