'Talk to people with dementia before caring for them'

Of the 300,000 Dutch people with dementia, 95% are older than 65. In short: dementia affects mostly seniors. Where do you find relatively many older people? In the church, for example Saint Clemens Church on the Park. Pastor Hans Vossenaar shares his experiences.

What causes dementia, we do not know exactly. A cure is not yet possible. So should we just sit idly by as the disease worsens? Pastor Hans Vossenaar doesn't think so. 'Dementia is a collective name for more than fifty brain diseases, often with different causes. Loneliness seems to play a role in some cases. People who do not go out much and do not dare to connect with other people do not use their brains as much. It is important for people to keep moving physically and mentally. It helps if we look up and keep an eye on each other.

Not caring but talking
When it comes to a dementia-friendly municipality of Nuenen, the pastor does not think in the first place of - for example - well-walked sidewalks. 'What I think is important is that we keep seeing people with dementia as people, rather than as patients, and that we keep talking to them. When people are sick, we often shoot into care mode. That is far from always necessary. Talk to each other. For example, ask that person what they can and want to do themselves and what they need help with. That's better than taking all the work off our hands unasked.'

Rituals
Some people have support for structure, according to Vossenaar. 'Think of their own, familiar daily rhythm but also religious rituals such as striking a cross, praying the Lord's Prayer or standing at the Gospel. These provide a kind of foothold. You do it almost automatically and it connects you with the people around you who do the same thing.'

Sometimes parishioners ask Vossenaar for spiritual support. "I then often focus on the family caregiver, so that they can keep it up. Because if the caregiver can no longer cope, we all have a big problem. I sometimes advise the caregiver to take the partner outside, for a walk or an errand. Then the person with dementia becomes human again and retains his dignity.

Can Our Lord cure dementia? Vossenaar: 'No. If the doctor can't do it, neither can Our Lord.'
 

In the next and final installment of this series, Inge Pax-Friedeman talks about her own experiences with dementia.