Today we spent the day in a rainy York. In the morning, we spent time at the “A Good Life With Dementia” course, run by Damian Murphy co-director of “Innovations In Dementia CIC” and “York Minds and Voices”, including Wendy Mitchell and many others.
I took my notepad with me to make notes but in the end I only had time to write down 4 things:
Learning and sharing as equals, Fantastic peer sharing, Beacon of hope and Very positive
We were there for just over 2 and a half hours and the discussions were so inclusive of everyone that time flew by and it reinforced my view that this is an invaluable resource for a person receiving a diagnosis of Dementia and their families.
Learning from your peers can certainly be a much better way of developing the skills we are all learning to try and live with our diagnosis of Dementia as the person and the family and a course like this you cannot simply be put in a text book as we are all different and we cope in our own ways but we can learn from each other
When I was diagnosed last year, as I left the Consultants room, I felt like I was stepping off a cliff into a deep black hole. This is no bad reflection on my Consultant, who has been very supportive, but on the inequalities of the system and funding. Had this course been available to my family and I last year it would have made such a huge difference to us in dealing with the diagnosis.
I would like to see this course come to Sheffield and the rest of the UK, with the support of Government, the NHS and local organisations and I hope that this will one day become the norm.
25/04/18
I have received a lovely email from Damian Murphy thanking us for attending yesterday. Attached to the email was a copy of the letter that he sends to everyone at the sessions outlining how the day went and summarising the conversation everyone had, proving that inclusion and support for all is at the heart of this course.
26/04/18
Wendy Mitchell has written a blog about Tuesdays session, which gives a bit more information:
Please have a look at this and at the other pieces Wendy Mitchell has written.
When The Fog Lifts 
Howard I too wish there had been something like this when my mum was diagnosed. Not only for the one with the disease it is very difficult for the rest of the family. I have found a much greater understanding after reading wendy Mitchell’s book. I now follow her blog and I am going to follow yours. Thankyou for sharing. Regards Heather Lucas, Sydney, Australia
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Thank you Heather, Young Dementia UK have contacted me today as they want to get support going in Sheffield. Peer support is much more powerful and you now have the experience with your Mother to share your knowledge with others in your local community, from the difficult times you have experienced, you can bring hope to others, Howard
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I have been following Wendy’s blog for a while, which is where I learned about yours, Howard. Sharing experiences in this way can only be a good thing and so helpful for those of us who are perhaps not in your situation but have others who may well be. Thank you for contributing to my awareness 🙂
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Hi Howard, many thanks for this post. It demonstrates how important such courses are for people living with dementia and their families. Maybe you will be running the one in Sheffield!
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Thank you, we’ve all benefited so much from the course. It wont be me but hopefully someone will be running a course in Sheffield
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