To the editor,
As this month is Alzheimer’s awareness month I would like to bring up an uncomfortable topic, jokes. On behalf of all the people and their families who are living with a diagnosis of dementia, please stop joking about it. I understand that we all fear losing our minds, after all, the mind is the essence of oneself, and joking is a way of coping with our fears.
Please consider this, we don’t joke about cancer, heart disease, or stroke, so please don’t joke about Alzheimer’s. It is painful for those directly affected to overhear comments such as “I can never find my keys or I can’t find the right word, maybe I’m getting Alzheimer’s” and then everybody laughs.
Check out the Alzheimers website, both the B.C. and the Canadian sites have loads of valuable information and ways communities can support those with a diagnosis of dementia. Thank you.
Pam Canty
Bridge Lake