Friday, February 24
dementia home
went to a dementia home in singapore. the home looks like a chalet. nice environment. they have about 210 patients who have dementia. some of them look fine and healthy, some were bed bound. some of them have relatives who would faithfully visit them every other day, while some others never have any visitors. i noticed that there were some of them holding toy babies. the social worker there said that they would treat the baby as if it was real. when the baby drops onto the floor, they would be very worried. and one of the lady with the toy baby said to the social worker, "wow, this baby of mine is really good. doesn't cry and doesn't have to eat". the social worker said that having a baby with them keeps them occupied and they feel that they have someone to care for. i didn't get a chance to talk to any of the patients. i wanted to, but there was no time. the most amazing thing is that the chariman (who is the one who set up the dementia home) is a lady who is 89 years old. and she comes in to work almost every other day. she is still healthy and very well! a can't help but wonder how the patients feel about being so called 'locked' up in the home. i know the home cares alot for them, but somehow, they do not have the freedom that they used to have. all because of their sickness. dementia. my grandfather has dementia. i wonder what will happen to him in the future.
help me to trust.