Alzheimer’s awareness campaign in Mamelodi
“Community members need to learn about the disease and start supporting people suffering from Alzheimer’s,” says Phumzile Gama of Aging-in-Action.
Mamelodi residents, especially elderly people, were educated about Alzheimer’s disease at Mahube Valley on Friday.
Phumzile Gama of Aging-in-Action said the organisation held the awareness campaign at Charity and Faith Mission.
Gama said she was surprised to learn that a lot of people don’t know much about Alzheimer’s, especially the youth.
She said the community members need to learn about the disease and start supporting people suffering from it.
People living with the illness need to be loved too, she said.
“I am concerned because many people are living with someone who has Alzheimer’s but their not aware of it.”
She said Alzheimer’s disease targets people who are above 60 years old and affects their brain.”
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that leads to personality changes, memory loss, intellectual slowing, and other symptoms.
She said although each person with Alzheimer’s is different, most go through a series of stages each characterised by more serious Alzheimer’s symptoms.
“In the past, people were mistaken to be witches, because people living with the disease forget things and can wake up at night and walk ending up getting lost or being in someone’s yard.
Alzheimer’s requires increased supervision at a minimum and direct care as the disease progresses, the cost of Alzheimer’s can add up quickly.”
She said other families become ashamed of their loved one living with Alzheimer’s and hide them in the house, lock up gates because they think they are crazy.
Priscilla Mdluli, an auxiliary social worker, spoke about the different stages of Alzheimer’s.
She said the first symptoms are often mistakenly attributed to ageing or stress.
Alzheimer’s has three stages: early, mild and final.
Early stages:
Difficulty with language and memory loss, for example forgetting how to use a knife and fork, and how to drink from a glass. They need assistance or supervision.
Mild stage:
– Unable to perform most common activities of daily living.
– Reading and writing are also progressively lost.
– During this phase memory problems worsen and the person may fail to recognise close relatives.
– Behavioural changes become more prevalent such as wondering, irritability, being emotional, and liability leading to crying outbursts, aggression or resistance to care.
Mdluli said these symptoms create stress for relatives and caregivers which can result in the sufferer being moved to a care home or other long-term care facility.
The final stage:
– Complete dependence on a caregiver.
– Language reduced to simple phrases or even single words leading to loss of speech.
– Extreme apathy and exhaustion.
– Muscle mass and mobility deteriorate to the point where the sufferer is bedridden and unable to feed themselves.
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