Last week Peter and I had the opportunity to talk to nursing students from the University of Winchester as part of their learning for their dementia day. We did two sessions, one either side of lunch, and Peter was able to share his story, not only of his diagnosis, but of the subsequent work in which he is now involved. I mention that we did two sessions, straddled by lunch (egg sandwiches and home-made muffins for those who are interested in the gastronomic minutiae of our lives) because after consuming our sandwiches and muffins (banana and chocolate chip) and logging back on to the University’s system one hour later, the memory of the first session had totally evaporated. As had the memory of the muffins.
Peter and I contributed to the department’s dementia day last year and, one year on, I think it’s fair to say that there have been some changes for Peter (mainly in his short term memory) but this turned out to be a great learning point. As things change, Peter is able to give a unique perspective on that specific part of the journey. Other key learning points were, I hope, how to live well, how to have and maintain a sense of purpose, how acceptance of the condition is fundamental to living well and how others around the person with dementia must adapt to accommodate the changes in the PLWD’s condition.
Peter concluded with telling the students that they are the future of dementia care and that their work is of absolute importance in supporting those diagnosed with the condition. There were some really excellent questions and observations from both sessions and, I hope, some stereotypes and myths suitably shattered.
Thanks to Claire, the Senior Lecturer, Nursing Apprenticeships, who organised our participation in this day and who took the photos of the backs of the students’ heads and, alas, the front of our heads – I’m glad that I did not know that we were going to be broadcast on such huge screens until after the event!
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