Professor Nathan Herrmann
The
goals of the Havergal Dementia Awareness Project included increasing the
community's understanding and appreciation of the problem of dementia, reducing
the stigma associated with dementia and allowing a small group of senior
students the opportunity to volunteer with, and enrich the lives of people with
dementia.
While
many members of the parent body are aware of the problems associated with
dementia, and may even have older family members with the illness, there's no
question that for many of the students, reading our blog and speaking to our
student volunteers, may have been the first opportunity to learn about
Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Given the aging of our society, the
number of dementia sufferers is increasing dramatically, and this will lead to
a huge burden on many (or most) families, as well as society as a whole. It is
therefore essential that all of us are able to appreciate the signs and
symptoms of the illness, and be prepared to help people with dementia to ensure
their lives are healthy, safe, and as fulfilling and comfortable as possible.
We all have a role to play in ensuring these goals.
By
visiting and spending time with a group of seniors with dementia, our Havergal
volunteers entertained, comforted and stimulated these individuals, improving
their quality of life. They tackled the stigma attached to the diagnosis of
dementia by recognizing that people with dementia are no different from you and
me – they have good days and bad days; they have likes and dislikes. But we all
recognize that everyone with dementia has a similar need to be respected and
treated with compassion. The student body can work towards spreading the word
about the importance of this illness and the need to improve our understanding
about the causes and treatment of dementia. The parent body can help ensure
that local, provincial and federal governments are preparing appropriately to
help families manage these people so that we don't become overwhelmed. Finally,
fundraising for dementia research and the Alzheimer's Society, is something we
can all participate in.
It
has been an absolute pleasure for me to work with the school and a fantastic
group of dedicated, compassionate students over the past year. I am convinced
they have accomplished the goals they set for themselves and wish them
congratulations and success in their futures! Finally, I would like to thank
the residents and staff at Cedarhurst Dementia Care Home for allowing us into
their lives.
Selina Chow (Student Chair), Clarissa
Yu, Daniela Krcmar, Katherine Ross, Olivia Nadalini,
Dr. Erika Friesen
Dr. Erika Friesen
When
we first started this Dementia Awareness Project, we were excited to embark on
a meaningful journey to learn more about dementia – an illness that we did not
know much about. As a group, our first step was to understand the memory loss
issues those seniors face, followed by how it affects their daily lives. Before
our visits to the dementia care home, we were nervous about how to interact
with the residents there. We worried about things that could go wrong, asking
questions such as, would they reject our visits? Would they be hostile to us?
How should we respond in such circumstances?
Nevertheless,
before our volunteer work began, Dr. Herrmann gave us an overview about
dementia and how to interact with someone with dementia. We continued to
explore this illness further through readings and writing the weekly blog
posts, under the guidance of Dr. Herrmann. As with all new endeavors, we have
experienced a steep learning curve. We tried our best to apply what we had
learned from Dr. Herrmann and from writing our blog to our weekly interactions
with the seniors. During our visits to the dementia care home, some residents
were easily approachable, while others were totally unengaged or even expressed
frustration. Some would remember us from the previous week, whereas others
would have no recollection of our visit. At the end of each weekly visit, we
debriefed as a group about the highlights and challenges of our interactions. Every
week, Dr. Herrmann has tirelessly explained to us why the residents behaved the
way they did, and gave us strategies on how to deal with similar situations. We
have learned more than we could have ever imagined from Dr. Herrmann, and our ability
to engage with people with dementia has significantly improved. After the first
few sessions, we were able to successfully engage the residents in
conversation, arts and crafts, and even have a winter holiday sing-along with
them! It is amazing to see how much the residents have come to enjoy our visits
– a big smile appears on their faces when we arrive, and they always ask when
they will see us again at the end of our visit.
As
we finish our volunteer work at the dementia care home for this year, we will
miss the residents dearly and look forward to visiting them again soon. We want
to thank the staff at Cedarhurst Dementia Care Home, who have supported us
weekly and helped us organize all the activities we did with the residents. We
also want to thank the residents and their families for allowing us to come
into their lives, and trusting us with the stories and memories they hold
closest to their hearts.
While
we are far from being experts in dementia, we feel comfortable and confident in
dealing with seniors with dementia. We are proud to be ambassadors of this important
illness to our school community. We are happy to know that we have raised
awareness about dementia among our friends and family, as many of our peers
have approached us at school to ask us more about dementia, share with us how
they are affected by dementia, and what our work means to them. Of course, this
is just the beginning and more can be done to raise awareness of and
de-stigmatize dementia.
We
are very grateful to Dr. Herrmann for his unfailing support and encouragement,
having mentored and guided us throughout our entire journey this year. Dr.
Herrmann has been an excellent role model for us, and we truly appreciate the
time he devotes to helping us despite his very busy schedule. We are very
honoured to have Dr. Herrmann – an internationally renowned expert – as our
mentor. Thank you, Dr. Herrmann.
Finally,
we thank our readers for following our 15-week series of our Dementia Awareness
Program this year. We sincerely hope that through our blog, you have been able
to deepen your understanding of dementia and learn more about what the Havergal
College students are doing for this important cause.
For
additional information on dementia, you can also follow Dr. Herrmann’s “Memory
Doctor” blog for dementia caregivers at: http://health.sunnybrook.ca/memory-doctor/
Professor Nathan
Herrmann and Selina Chow (Student Chair)
Nathan
Herrmann MD FRCPC
Professor,
Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
Lewar
Chair in Geriatric Psychiatry
Head,
Division of Geriatric Psychiatry
Sunnybrook
Health Sciences Centre
