“So thanks to all you angels out there, dementia angels!”

-by Agnes Houston

“Good morning, everybody. It’s Agnes from Scotland. Slovenia is over, it was a time of magic, meeting people with dementia from all over Europe. It was wonderful, enlightening, and very very helpful. I would like to thank the Life Changes Trust, who paid for some people with dementia and their carers to be there.

What did I want to report. I want to say thank you to all the carers out there. I realised when I was out in Slovenia, Ljubljana, that without Donna, one, I would not be there, and two, I would never be able to go. She was my rock, my wind beneath my wings. She helped me soar and do the things and the networking that I had to do in Slovenia. Would a professional have been able to do this? Possibly. Could I find a professional to do it? No, definitely not. So thanks to all you angels out there, dementia angels, and you all know who you are.

The booklet, the sensory booklet. I presented it in Slovenia, and I was absolutely gobsmacked at how well it was received. There was a lady and her sister, and Donna was reporting that the lady had dementia, she was looking at the booklet, glancing through it, tears streaming down her face and she said ‘I do that, I do that, oh my gosh, that happened to me. Why did nobody tell me?’

So thanks again to all the people who supported me doing the booklet. It’s been a rough write. It’s taken a year out of my life and my daughter’s life, but so worth it, hearing the feedback. And two people from Italy want to translate parts of it into Italian, so good news there.

Now it’s back to normality. I just had a shower this morning and I noticed that I’m covered in bruises. This is the sensory thing: I was taken out of my normal environment and had to adapt to things that weren’t, that I didn’t know, so consequently bumping into things. The clumsy child syndrome. Yes, I think I’m getting younger every day! Thank you, bye!”

For more reports from Agnes, click here.