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Hello! My name is Jane, and I've decided to shave my head in the hope of raising money for The Alzheimers Society of Ireland (ASI). This has been largely inspired by the lockdown due to Coronavirus, resulting in my "Mad Hair" due to the unavailability of a hairdresser! D-Day for the Shave is 24th May 2020.
I have chosen the ASI as they are a charity close to my family's heart. My husband of 50 years, Sean, has Alzheimhers. The ASI have been a great help and support to us for the past ten years, both as advocates for people living with Dementia, and in working towards lessening the stigma of the illness.
We have had great support from the ASI carers group, who run social groups covering many different activities. The ASI helpline is often the first place people who are worried about Alzheimer's turn and it is a fantastic service, along with their website.
Through our involvement with the ASI we participated in a program Living Well with Dementia coordinated by the HSE, which produced small ads to promote openness and understanding for those living with dementia.
Other activities that we have got involved in through the ASI connections are exercise classes, the Musical Memories Choir, the Azure tours of Art exhibitions, walking groups and creative writing courses. These activities have been a God send as Sean's own passions and interests such as cycling, sailing, working as a volunteer for the Samaritans and Meals on Wheels just stopped. The supports of the ASI have allowed us to continue to have a full life full of new people and interesting activities.
The Dementia Working group was set up to make people aware that these patients are still the same people we have known and loved all their lives. They just no longer function in the same way. Sean is on the team of the Dementia Working Group that the ASI facilitates, giving the patients a say in the kind of supports that they need.
Sean remains the good humoured rogue he always has been, cracking his (really brilliant) jokes and always ready with a smile and for a chat with everybody. He is very well known locally, still living in the same area that he grew up in.
The advice for me from the ASI about letting people know about Sean's diagnosis was invaluable as friends, family and acquaintances have remained hanging in with us, helping to keep Sean's life as normal and full as it always has been.
I have chosen the ASI as they are a charity close to my family's heart. My husband of 50 years, Sean, has Alzheimhers. The ASI have been a great help and support to us for the past ten years, both as advocates for people living with Dementia, and in working towards lessening the stigma of the illness.
We have had great support from the ASI carers group, who run social groups covering many different activities. The ASI helpline is often the first place people who are worried about Alzheimer's turn and it is a fantastic service, along with their website.
Through our involvement with the ASI we participated in a program Living Well with Dementia coordinated by the HSE, which produced small ads to promote openness and understanding for those living with dementia.
Other activities that we have got involved in through the ASI connections are exercise classes, the Musical Memories Choir, the Azure tours of Art exhibitions, walking groups and creative writing courses. These activities have been a God send as Sean's own passions and interests such as cycling, sailing, working as a volunteer for the Samaritans and Meals on Wheels just stopped. The supports of the ASI have allowed us to continue to have a full life full of new people and interesting activities.
The Dementia Working group was set up to make people aware that these patients are still the same people we have known and loved all their lives. They just no longer function in the same way. Sean is on the team of the Dementia Working Group that the ASI facilitates, giving the patients a say in the kind of supports that they need.
Sean remains the good humoured rogue he always has been, cracking his (really brilliant) jokes and always ready with a smile and for a chat with everybody. He is very well known locally, still living in the same area that he grew up in.
The advice for me from the ASI about letting people know about Sean's diagnosis was invaluable as friends, family and acquaintances have remained hanging in with us, helping to keep Sean's life as normal and full as it always has been.
Organizer
Jane Mullan
Organizer