HELPING HAND
Counselors form support base
Mumbai: It is a nightmarish existence: you forget your past,
don’t recognise your loved ones and can’t communicate your
thoughts. Alzheimer’s, previously dismissed as mere forgetfulness
caused by old age, is slowly being recognized as a serious
problem with the mushrooming of support cells, counseling
centers and a day care center over the past year.
Mumbaikars have strongly endorsed the ‘We can make a difference’
theme as they approach yet another World Alzheimer’s Day on
Wednesday. Alzheimer’s—a progressive and irreversible neurological
disorder—has afflicted nearly 18 million aged persons worldwide.
With zero cure, it is often a more trying experience for relatives
than for sufferers. “We went through a tough phase when my
mother began forgetting things and had difficulty even in
recognizing us,’’ said Hoofers Wada, a Marine Lines resident,
recalling her mother’s degeneration four years ago. “It was
a trying experience as she began living in a world of her
own and demanding more attention. It was almost like living
with a child,’’ she added.
Wada's worries were alleviated when a support group instituted
at Gammadion Road last year, enabled her to share her experience
with other Mumbaikars in a similar plight. She learnt of others
who were coping with patients who had turned aggressive or
wandered aimlessly.
“There has been an improvement in the management of Alzheimer’s
as we can at least identify an Alzheimer’s case and counsel
relatives on how to deal with them,’’ said Dr Shirring Boardwalk,
who has 76 caregivers enrolled at the center run by the Alzheimer’s
and Related Disorder Society of India in I I Hospital.
“Patient care in a day care center is easier as they get together,
listen to music and are always attended to,’’ said Sheilu
Sreenivasan, president of Dignity Foundation, a voluntary
organization that runs the city’s only day care center for
Alzheimer’s patients. They are also launching a ‘memory gym’
on Wednesday, to test patients’ memory and conduct mental
exercises that will help doctors to detect early signs of
degeneration.
Publication: Times Of India Mumbai; Date: Sep 21, 2005; Section:
Times City
Alzheimer’s disease: Did you know this?
White paper on Alzheimer’s
Counsellors
for Alzheimer’s
NGO: ARDSI
- Alzheimer's & Related Disorders of India-Mumbai Chapter
Dignity
Foundation
