Imagine that you forget where you live and get lost in your own neighbourhood. Imagine that you forget how to tie your shoes. Imagine you cannot recognize your child. Imagine that you forget your second language that you have been speaking for 40 years.

Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative, progressive and irreversible illness that affects the brain, causing cells to shrink and die. It is the most common of a large group of disorders known as “dementias”. It is not a normal part of aging, and in fact can (rarely) attack people as young as 30, although it is generally associated with those over 65 years of age.

Alzheimer’s causes more than memory loss; it also affects the person’s capacity to think, speak, communicate and perform simple tasks. It is often accompanied by changes in personality, mood and behaviour. Currently, there is no cure for this disease, which affects more than 120,000 people in Quebec, and 7000 in Lanaudière alone. In Canada, there is a new person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s every 5 minutes. Twice as many women fall victim to the disease than men.

Living with Alzheimer’s is very challenging, both for the person with the disease and for those who care for them. Caregivers carry a great psychological burden. They often feel like they are not doing enough, worry about the future, suffer guilt over negative thoughts and feelings, or feel powerless against all of the challenges they face. The situation tends to drain them of energy. Often times, the caregiver is also elderly and may have his or her own health problems to deal with as well. It is important to ensure that the caregiver is also given support and assistance.

Fortunately, Lanaudière has an excellent resource for those touched by Alzheimer’s. The Société Alzheimer de Lanaudière is an autonomous community organization with the mandate to offer information and support to persons suffering from Alzheimer’s as well as their families and others who are affected by this disease and any other associated cognitive impairments. The Société helps by accompanying affected families so that they can move through the different stages in relative serenity. They offer sensitization campaigns, individual and family sessions, respite for caregivers, stimulation activities for patients, conferences, training for caregivers, referrals to other resources and a well-stocked lending library containing books, films, games and other stimulation activities. They also offer a support group for those suffering from Alzheimer’s as well as a support group for caregivers in each one of the RCMs in Lanaudière. Many of their services are available in English.

The nationwide Alzheimer’s Society is a leading source for Alzheimer research in Canada and invests over $3 million annually on the search for the causes and cure for this disease. The Society gives equal importance to biomedical research that provides insight into Alzheimer Disease, and to psychosocial research that leads to improvements in Alzheimer care. The Société Alzheimer de Lanaudière also contributes a portion of their donations to research as well as subsidizing free services within the region. They accept donations by mail or on line at www.canadahelps.org/dn/9155.

For more information, to obtain assistance or to become a member, you may contact the Société Alzheimer’s de Lanaudière by mail at 190 rue Montcalm, Joliette J6E 5G4; by telephone at (450) 759-3057 or toll-free at 1-877-759-3077; or by email at info@sadl.org. You may also consult their website at www.sadl.org.

Information provided by the Société Alzheimer de Lanaudière, and compiled by the English Community Organization of Lanaudière