It is hard to believe I am writing the fifth blog in our weekly series, but also that it is already six months since Dementia Alliance International launched itself... nervously, slightly tentatively, certainly with some reservations, in some ways accidentally, and unbelievably with no financial backing or funding. With the support of one very special person Laura Bowley, it has been possible to make some dreams come true.
There are other organisations out there with either high profile support, or financial backing, many with both, that are making their mark, but as the editor, co-founder and a Board member of this organisation, I feel really proud of what seven individuals, often struggling to live well with the symptoms of this is that type of dementia, have achieved.
It's also incredible that it is now more than a calendar month since the ADI2014 conference in Puerto Rico, and although those of us in attendance came away on a high, it is hard to keep that momentum going. As people living well with dementia, it does not matter how well we are living with it; we all have difficulties staying focused, or remembering to do the things we have promised to do. Some of us have issues with energy, with eyesight, with reading, with writing, and even with mobility.
So we are living well with dementia, but we are disAbled because of the symptoms of dementia, individually, and depending on the type or cause of our dementia, and no matter how much we want to forgetwe have dementia, none of us can get away from it. We are no different to you, the members of DAI.
We do need support and enabling to function, but most of all, we need kindness and belief that we can still function, albeit perhaps in different ways to you, or to the way we used to function, but we can still function. Most importantly, we are all still human beings, with feelings and needing acceptance and love.
The following is another candid and exceptional presentation by Richard Taylor at ADI2014, with the help of Circle of Friends member Sid Yudowitch. Please watch, listen, and learn.