old, his father, Ted, fell off his
push bike on his way to work.
The accident caused some
minor concussion and some
fluid on the brain, but allowed
normal life. However over time Ted began
noticing gaps in his short term memory. The
following eleven years saw a slow decline in
his health, resulting in the forced retirement of
him and his wife, and the diagnosis that he had
early onset dementia.
dementia, Joseph has volunteered and worked
in public speaking roles for several years. He
began speaking as a Youth Ambassador for
World Vision's Forty Hour Famine, where
he travelled to Cambodia, returning to speak
at schools across Tasmania. He is now a
presenter for the Global Poverty Project,
and works teaching and speaking at his local
church.
at the University of Tasmania, majoring in
composition. From there he hopes to go into
Music therapy, to work with people like his
dad, bringing the positive medical effects of
music into nursing homes and hospitals.
diagnosed with early onset dementia. My
mother left work to become his full time carer,
while my younger brother and I began to try
and adjust to a father needing ever more care
and attention.
describe my perception of the decline in my
father's health since diagnosis. I'll describe
how his symptoms impacted his life at home
as a husband, father and friend. I'll give my
point of view for the work and energy my
mother put in as his carer, while trying to retain
her relationship as his wife. And I'll give my
insight on how dad's condition reacted with
my little brother, as he attempted to complete
his schooling and develop socially with as little
impact from Alzheimer's as possible.
experienced a number of revelations on how
a person with dementia responds to different
social situations, music and relationships.
We've been endlessly surprised at how
flippantly dad would switch between his new
and old personas, how he'd process ideas and
concepts differently and how he'd deal with his
own awareness of his disease.
will be totally anecdotal, and therefore quite
subjective. Hopefully though my family's
(slightly unique) experience will prove helpful
towards the greater understanding of the tiles
of life.