On the need, to take care of oneself well, for all the, primary caretakers with families who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia, watch the video! Off of the Front Page Sections, translated…
September is International Dementia Month, with the outbreaks of MERS-CoV, the large-scale conferences started minimizing in size, and switched to the online forum means, with the focal points still on the patients. It’s just, that we need to note, that behind these elderly persons, there is one (or multiple) figure that’s not noted, they are, the hardworking, tried, caretakers, whose hard work aren’t, normally, noted.
episode one, on the elderly man, Chuang, off of YouTube…and yes, the links work!
＃失智症【好好照顧家己】第1集《熟齡照顧者莊爸爸》 – YouTube
I’d viewed these long-term caretakers from the angles of the hospital treatment, and at-home treatment programs, they’d passed through similar paths: not knowing a thing about Alzheimer’s, seeking help from all around, to trial and error the methods of caretaking to find what worked, fighting with ones’ own siblings on the means of care provided, with the progression of the illness, to the final step, of, letting go. The trials, the tortures, of these caretakers, are, comparable to those elderly who are, diagnosed, it’s just that everybody forgot, that they too, needed to get noted, to get the supports they’re, in need of.
Based off of this, we’d, used this time, to post the documentary film of “Do Look After Yourselves” on Youtube. The video first showed the brothers, Chuang, who are in charge of caring for their, demented father, they’d come to agreement, to let their father pass away peacefully, at home in the end.
Mr. Chuang to me, just like aging men, nobody can tell, that he’d, shouldered the care of his own father for twelve years, what’s different was, he’d worked hard, to find his own place, his value, in caring for his own, elderly father, through studying law, it’d, helped his mind get away, from the trials of caretaking, and he’d, matured because of his studies too. He’d told me, “in the process of caring, it’s normal, that we are, off the tracks of our, regular, schedules, sometimes I’d had to get up in the middle of the nights, to flip my father over, to change him, and I couldn’t, sleep anymore, so I’d, settled down to study! And, as I’d studied on, the days, passed, without notice, and, I’d, learned, new things too.” Such a, positive, attitude!
episode two, on the elderly woman, Mrs. Lan…off of YouTube
＃失智症【好好照顧家己】第2集《高齡照顧者藍媽媽》 – YouTube
The family was impressive in that a lot of the families are in conflict on the means of caretaking, but Mr. Chuang and his younger brother, had discussed the larger means of caretaking, and, split up the caretaking needs. I’d watched that in the film, the brothers took turns, flipping their father over, patting him on the back, changing his clothes, such a smooth process, there’s, that sense of, knowing what each other’s next moves were from years of working together. This sort of a connection, after their father passed, they’re still, very connected, as, family members, such, a wonderful thing.
The following was Mrs. Lang, as an elderly, she started taking care of her husband who’d fallen due to a stroke for over a decade, from her, I saw the values of facing the trials of life of traditional Taiwanese woman, how she refused, to get beaten down by fate, as she was younger, she’d, faced her shares of, challenges in life, tried to work through them, but because of her long-term caring for her husband, she’d fallen in the end, or, maybe, until she’s, too sick to move, will the families finally note, that even she, has fears, and worries too, and, had the caretakers noted ones’ own strengths, ones’ own abilities earlier, and asked for help in time, maybe, all of it, would, end, better.
Everybody knows it’s, easier said than done, let’s all watch this video, to get to know the trials of the primary caretakers, do watch the video, and, share it with others, knowing, that taking care of your psychological wellbeing is no escaping your duties as caretakers, nor selfish, it’s, a must, because, only through, caring for yourselves completely, will the road to caretaking last longer, and get better.
And so, this, brings out, how easily we overlooked the hardships of the primary caretakers with family members diagnosed with dementia, and, caretaking is hard, especially, when you don’t have anybody else around you, to help you shoulder the burdens, which is why, learning when, and where to get the help you need with caretaking of the elderly demented, is a needed skill, and there are the breather programs, here available, for the primary caretakers to take a break, to just, step away, to have some time to oneself set up.