Living with dementia | NHS

Two carers talk about their experiences of caring for someone with dementia. With advice, help and support for anyone newly diagnosed with dementia, worried they have early signs of dementia, or caring for a person with dementia

[mikemaurpal]

I really enjoyed this video, My wife has dementia and I am her full time carer, but apart from my doctor I get no real help from any organisation, and to be honest it can be very hard. Both the wife and I are in our late 70s, in fact I will be 80 this year, and I find myself getting very frustrated with my wife when she cannot do some of the normal things in life, I now even have to help her dress, and yet she will do the washing, the cleaning and the washing up, but I will not let her cook, I feel that that would be dangerous for her, I do have to follow her around the flat if we are going out, making sure that taps are turned off and the electric is ok.
I do love my wife, we have been married for 34 years this year, and I promised to love her in sickness and in health, so I am in this for the long haul and I will do what I have to to make her life as easy as possible. I do realise that things will get worse as time goes on, and I will get stressed out sometimes, I will also get angry, but I have to not show this side to my wife, it's a case of counting 20 maybe twice over.
We do have a small car and the wife loves going out for a drive, she sits saying nothing, just looks out of the window, so I do the talking but to be truthful I am talking to myself.
Every month we meet up with the family and have a nice meal which she loves and for her that makes for a good day. I suppose I see some good days and some bad, and if I see that black cloud above her head, I just say, get your shoes on, and she knows we are going out.
This video has helped me a lot, it helps me to know that there are other carers out there having the same problems as I am going though on a daily basis, so thank you.