Inge Pax has Alzheimer's: 'I have a rich life'

How would you react if you were told you had dementia? Would your world fall apart? For Inge Pax-Friedeman, who hopes to turn 86 later this year, the news that she has Alzheimer's came like a bolt from the blue. 'Yet I didn't panic. I have trouble remembering things, I know, but it doesn't bother me much myself. I'm not melancholy about it.'

Inge lives in Savant van Lenthof Care Center on the Kerkstraat in Nuenen. She lives there pleasantly, she says, but the occasion was less pleasant. 'I had a heart attack and didn't come home after that. First I was hospitalized. Then I went to a rehabilitation center and from there I moved here.'

From Nuenen to Best and back

Inge was born and raised in Nuenen. 'But from the moment I got married I have always lived in Best. Because I developed dementia, I moved here. As a result, the contact with a number of girlfriends was diluted. I found that annoying, but then again: they too are already in their eighties. They no longer get into their cars to visit me here. Fortunately, my sisters and both my children visit regularly.'

Inge can, she tells herself, still do quite a lot. Every other Thursday afternoon, for example, I go cycling with my cycling buddy, Henry van Vlerken (Nuenen center manager, ed.), on a double bicycle. I can pedal, but I prefer to keep my feet still and look around. I love that. We are gone for two to three hours. Somewhere halfway, we grab a terrace or eat an ice cream.

No CPR

Inge enjoys doing puzzles and following current events on TV. 'I also like to watch the Tour de France. I think those surroundings are so beautiful. And every Monday I play rummikub with a sister of mine. No, I'm not bored and I still enjoy life. Only I do forget a lot of things. Inge has thought carefully about her ending. 'I had it written down that I don't want to be resuscitated. I have a rich life, but when my end has come I surrender to it.
 

Publication of this article - also on our Facebook page - is by full permission of Ms. Inge Pax-Friedeman.

This is the last of eight articles about dementia in Nuenen. All articles can be read back on our webpage Dementia Friendly Nuenen.