“The relief you see on family’s faces when they come to Lady Lourdes House is palpable” – Amelia Desormeaux.
The family of a man living with dementia is calling for more specialised dementia care units to help improve individuals’ wellbeing and slow progression of the disease.
September 16-22 is Dementia Action Week. The 2024 theme, ‘Act Now for a Dementia-Friendly Future’, emphasises the importance of building awareness and acceptance of dementia in the community.
Bernie Desormeaux, aged 74, was diagnosed with dementia 10 years ago. From the beginning, his loving family – partner Amelia, daughters Lilly and Olivia, and mother-in-law Mary – struggled to find the support he and the family needed.
It was a difficult journey. Not just the financial constraints and administrative burdens of navigating a very complicated system, but also the emotional toll,” says his daughter Lilly. “Our hearts go out to anyone struggling with the complexity of the system and those without the resources that we luckily accessed.”
After numerous stays in aged care homes that didn’t suit Bernie’s needs, his health suffered.