When Pat Hanrath visits her mother, Anna, at her care home in Whitehorse, she often brings a treat. One day, she brought Timbits. When Pat offered the box to her mom, her mother’s face lit up as she made her choice and put it in her mouth.
When she finished eating, Pat offered another and again, her mother’s face lit up as she picked another one.
Like many Canadians, Pat’s mother lives with mixed dementia, combining Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. She was diagnosed in 2015, four years before Pat walked with her into the care home.
January is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, an opportunity for people to have conversations about dementia. The Alzheimer Society of B.C. is recognizing Alzheimer’s Awareness Month by sharing the experiences of people like Pat Hanrath, who has found meaning, connection and joy after a dementia diagnosis.
“I think of all my mom’s care providers – myself included – as parts of a wheel,” Pat says. “My mom is the hub and we are the spokes. We don’t want a flat tire. If one person doesn’t carry their weight, the journey gets bumpy. But if we work together to provide the support my mom needs, the wheel turns smoothly. It feels good to know they consider me part of that wheel.”
Pat loves the slower pace of life in Whitehorse but living so far north provides some challenges. She feels lucky to have found an in-person support group, facilitated by an Alzheimer Society of B.C.-trained volunteer and a care home for her mother not too far from her home, but she wishes there were more in-person education opportunities that guided people affected by dementia through what to expect on the journey and more in-home services that might have helped her mother live independently longer.
Having to care for the person who raised you is never easy, but Pat takes solace in knowing that after so many tumultuous years, her mother is safe and happy. “That’s one thing I’m happy about. She doesn’t remember what she can’t do anymore; she just lives in the moment.”
Take part
In January, caregivers and people living with dementia will explore this year’s Alzheimer’s Awareness Month theme by sharing their unique journeys living with the disease in two virtual panel discussions. Participants will learn how the Alzheimer Society of B.C. listened to families' needs and guided them to programs, resources and education that were right for them.
• Lived experience: Different roadmaps for dementia on Jan. 15 from 2 to 30 p.m. PT
• Lived experience: Different roadmaps for caregiving on Jan. 22 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. PT.
• In-person education events: visit alzbc.org/dementia-events-yukon for details.
Find support
If you have questions about Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias, call the Alzheimer Society of B.C.'s First Link® Yukon Dementia Helpline for information and support: 1-888-852-2579 (Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.)