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On 21st June, at 5.30pm, we received her call to inform that her father was being physically abused by his son and daughter-in-law. Taking immediate action, Dignity staff called the residence of the Chief Minister of Punjab and informed the operator about the case. The Chief Minister too took swift action and connected us to the SSP and SP of Bhatinda. The son was then asked to give a personal bond (Zamanat) which ensured that if any member would physically abuse Suman Kaur’s father, s/he would immediately be sent to jail. This has given a sense of security to Suman and her father that there will be no more physical abuse in the future.
Dignity Helpline
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My mother, besides being multi-faceted in skills across various arts and craft, was an avid entrepreneur and had been active in many social work programmes through well-known NGOs in the city including Dignity Foundation. She became well known for her selfless voluntary work. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with Arterial Fibrillation and subsequently for Alzheimer’s Disease. She slowly withdrew from public life and retired entirely.
Over the years, in our efforts to give her the best care possible – medical and personal attention – the Alzheimer’s progression had slowed. She suffered a severe case of Pulmonary Oedema in February 2021 due to her heart condition and was hospitalized. On her return, I increased the care with a full-time live-in care giver. My brother rushed from Mumbai and stayed with her to help with the care and her nutrition. All this, and the medical care she received, improved her health.
In our efforts to improve the quality of her life; we discovered her old affiliation with Dignity Foundation and reached out to them to understand their activities, especially in Elderly Alzheimer care. We quickly found out that they have various programmes with highly trained personnel who provide care and rehabilitation for such patients.
We started a programme for my mother. Nominated care givers from Dignity Foundation would visit our house and engage my mother for three days a week, with well planned activities to entertain as well as engage the cognitive abilities of my mother. The activities were stepped up after the proactive enthusiasm that they were able to generate from my mother. Soon the set of activities excited my mother to the extent that she looked forward to the visits. The activities were made more challenging for her since my mother met and exceeded expectations, despite the complexity of the activities.
This positive engagement has helped to bring back her latent humour and liveliness. Many interests are back – including board games, reading newspapers, Vedic chanting, walking around the house and playing carrom too. Today anyone who meets her will struggle to believe that she is an Alzheimer’s patient.
My family has developed considerable admiration for the committed, patient and knowledgeable work done by the members of Dignity Foundation. We are grateful and obliged.
Dementia Day Care Centre, Chennai
