On one of my parents winter visits to me in Singapore from the UK, I noticed a change in my father. He had become quieter, slept a lot. At the time I just put it down to jet lag and ageing
When I saw him during that same year in the UK – he seemed to be getting worse. In fact, he was sleeping more and looked mildly depressed.
Later, we learned it was Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is the most prevalent form of dementia, affecting 50-60% of cases.
Alzheimer’s isn’t just memory loss. It robs patients of memory, mobility, communication, self-care, and dignity before a slow death
With my father, as the disease progressed, and more parts of the brain were impacted, he lost more functions. We eventually needed male carers on a daily basis visiting, and he passed away in February 2018.
He was 85 years old and lived a good life. So, for us as a family, it was a celebration of his life as well as a release from a horrific disease.
After my father’s passing, we discovered many families had walked the Alzheimer’s path but rarely shared their stories, especially in the Asian community. I’ve since dedicated time to raising awareness, fundraising and sharing learnings
Alzheimer’s starts forming 20-30 years in advance and is influenced largely by lifestyle factors. Along with some predisposition based on some genes. But it’s largely not hereditary (only 1% of cases based on the latest research).
Which means you and I can take steps today to minimize the risk of onset.
They often say with Alzheimer’s, “you lose the person twice” – firstly when they show symptoms of the disease and then when the disease takes the person. I hope to do my small part to raise awareness and ensure other families don’t suffer like ours.
Below is a 3-minute video that explains Alzheimer’s in really simple terms.
