Dementia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's...

         After working as a professional caregiver for around 5 years plus, and on the side as a volunteer for a couple of individual's in town with different kinds of mental issues, there is something extremely valuable I've learned and would like to share here. This is especially for those who have a loved one that's struggling with having one of these conditions and might not really understand the condition. First of all, no one should only be viewed as being just a disease. The person does have feelings and emotions and aren't their disease, they are still a person. The person still needs to be loved and respected, not insulted, made fun of, bullied and just looked at as the disease they have. It does still matter to the person, to be loved and respected.

         Just wanted to share this with many of those who might not truly understand these conditions. And those who have Parkinson's are normally very highly intelligent individual's, and still understand a lot more than you think they do. Same goes for any other kind of person that has either a mental condition or dementia or Alzheimer's. It truly broke my heart working as a caregiver and family members only saw their loved one as a disease. The person is still there and still needs to be loved and respected.