A lifeline of support

The first part of a series on dementia and its impact on sufferers, families and communities

GROWING old is a privilege but with longer life expectancy brings a myriad of challenges, both from a health perspective and those presented in supporting people to remain active and independent for as long as they can.

Advances in medical science have given us all the prospect of surviving conditions that would have been a death sentence ten or 20 years ago, but there is one condition that experts believe will double in numbers over the next 20 years, that few of us are prepared for.

Dementia, in all its forms, is becoming more common throughout the country, with few families untouched by this degenerative, terminal disease.

Support for sufferers and their families is out there, but it can be quite hard to find until a diagnosis is made. Even then, the shock and grief associated with such a revelation means families can struggle in the dark until an intervention is made.

Leading the charge with such help and support is Western Alzheimer’s, which although based over the county border in Ballindine offers services to people throughout Galway, Mayo and Roscommon.

Read the feature in full in this week’s edition of The Tuam Herald, on sale in shops or buy the digital edition here