I have been fortunate enough to have people reach out to me and share their personal stories of their parents/grandparents struggles with Dementia and Alzheimer's (which is a type of dementia...my mother has Vascular Dementia, I will cover the explanation in tomorrow's blog). A lot of these people are people I've never met, but some are people I know and their stories are so sad because some of these people have acted as caregivers and expressed the loneliness and hardships of caring for a loved one over a period of time, one person even expressed that while caring for her grandmother, she was being judged and ridiculed by her own family!
I'd hate to think that anyone could even begin to think they could fight this battle alone...it takes an army of support, and as much people are out there willing to support you, there are some out there who actually wish the worst for you...I don't get that sick mentality, but stay strong. Don't let anyone's opinion shake you. Keep going. No one knows your struggles; it's ok to openly talk about them because somewhere out there, someone is listening. We might be born into this world alone, and leave it alone, but we don't have to live it alone. This goes for all struggles.
People have different ways of coping with pain, as a caregiver to my mother I've learned to cope with pain by becoming knowledgeable on the disease which she suffers from, Vascular Dementia CLICK HERE to know more about the disease.
Reaching out has also helped me know and realize that I was and am not alone on this journey. Statistics show that there are approximately 5.4 billion people living in the US with Alzheimer's Disease and that 87% of those people live at home or with family members and almost 15 million American's are unpaid caregivers, I fall under that category, I am a statistic, but I am not alone!
When I receive a message or an email from someone sharing their stories with me, I can't help but to cry because I know it took a lot of courage for them to reach out and share their story with me. The important this is knowing we are not alone, and talking about our struggles is a tool for survival. Thank you to those of you who regularly read and share my blog, also thanks to the new visitors and especially those who have shared your stories with me, because just like you...I just want to understand this disease and get through another day with a smile on my face.
No comments:
Post a Comment