Ashcroft woman shares mother’s journey with dementia to reduce stigma

Heather Inglis is a caregiver for her mother, who has dementia.

“The bright light in my mother’s eyes is no longer there,” she said.

Inglis first recognized some changes in her mother, Gloria, in 2012.

“And then we went on a cruise for 15 days to Hawaii and back, we were in a small stateroom, together 24/7, and by the end of the cruise I’d seen enough examples of unexplained forgetfulness that made me talk to her when we got home and we went to see our family doctor and that’s where the diagnosis process started,” Inglis said.

More than 500,000 Canadians are living with dementia.

Tara Hildebrand is the support and education coordinator with the Alzheimer Society in Kamloops. She says cases of dementia are expected to grow.

“That number within the next 15 years is suggested to rise to about a million people over the next 15 years,” Hildebrand said. “So, we need to make sure we get the word out there and are supporting people with dementia more effectively than we are now.”

Inglis says she feels a sense of loss for the woman her mother was prior to her diagnosis.

“It’s shrinking her in a way,” she said. “Her world has become smaller and smaller with each passing year because you know, eventually she forfeited her driver’s license and had to rely on other people. She was shy about going out and meeting new people because she was embarrassed that she couldn’t remember their names.”

The Alzheimer Society of B.C. has been one of the greatest resources for Inglis.

“We have our First Link program,” Hildebrand said, “which means people that are either formally referred by a healthcare practitioner or self-referred to us can become part of our First Link program. So they have ongoing support, they have access to all of the education that we teach throughout our province, as well as the support groups, which Heather has been involved with as well.”

During Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, Inglis hopes people will simply begin a conversation and inform themselves about dementia.

“Listen, learn, ask for help,” she said. “Just be patient and kind with each other, because you don’t know when you’re standing in the bank, what that older person, who’s struggling and taking too long is actually dealing with.”

by Jill Sperling

Ashcroft woman shares mother’s journey with dementia to reduce stigma

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