World Alzheimer's Day - Memory Walk
HON ALISON XAMON (East Metropolitan) [9.53 pm]: On Sunday I participated in an event on behalf of Alzheimer’s Australia. The purpose of that event was to mark World Alzheimer’s Day. That event was the Memory Walk at Curtin University. Fortunately, Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day. The weather was perfect. Many families participated in that walk. Many spouses of people who either had or have Alzheimer’s disease took part in that walk. Every time we did a lap, we would take a flag and we would plant that flag in the middle of the oval in remembrance of people who had or have Alzheimer’s disease. As well as being an event to raise the profile of Alzheimer’s disease, it was also an event to raise money to provide critical services to families and individuals who are affected by Alzheimer’s disease, as well as other forms of dementia.
The statistics around Alzheimer’s disease, and particularly around what the future holds for people with Alzheimer’s disease, are frightening. In 2009, Alzheimer’s Australia released a report that it had commissioned from Access Economics into the incidence and prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in the community. The report warns that the accelerated growth in the number of people with dementia will have dire consequences for the Australian health system and the quality of life of people who are living with dementia. It certainly highlights the spiralling social and economic impact of dementia on a healthcare system that we know is already under a great deal of pressure.
The report found that by 2020, there will be 75 000 baby boomers with dementia. The report found also that by 2050, there will be over 1.1 million Australians with dementia, and that by 2060, dementia will account for 11 per cent of health and aged care spending. The report found that in 2009, 22 000 people in Western Australia had been diagnosed with dementia; and I note that this year, according to Alzheimer’s Australia, that has already risen to 23 000 people. The report found also that in 2030, this figure will rise to 60 000, and by 2050, it will rise to over 125 000; and by 2050, 370 new cases of dementia will be diagnosed every week. The findings in this report will have major implications for the future of health care in Western Australia. Unless we make some significant medical breakthroughs very soon, dementia will become one of the most significant health challenges that this state will face. We therefore need to make sure that we respond seriously to the challenge of the increasing incidence of dementia. This will mean increases in funding, as well as a commitment by government to set very clear directions and strategies for the future.
I am one of the many people who have signed up to be dementia champions with Alzheimer’s Australia. I am very pleased to do what I can to raise the profile not only of this important issue, but also of Alzheimer’s Australia. I am one of probably only a few people in this place who have had Alzheimer’s disease touch their families and their lives and have had it leave its very indelible and painful mark. Eight years ago, my family had to come to terms with the fact that my grandfather had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. It took a while for it to become apparent. He had been very good at covering it up for quite some time. It started off with small things, but it became profoundly more serious, and unfortunately it came to a head when an unscrupulous couple were able to take advantage of his dementia and steal a significant amount of his life savings; and he did not have much to start with.
It was not long after that I was given his power of attorney and I also became his carer; something I had not anticipated at that point in my life. I was in my early 30s, and my father had passed away, so the mantle to become his carer fell to me. They were difficult times. I already had a young child and was pregnant with my second. I was already working full time and studying part time, although the study certainly dropped off the radar pretty quickly. I could not drop the children off the radar, so that continued! My grandfather had also been my grandmother’s carer for 10 years. My grandmother had earlier suffered a series of strokes. I ended up taking on the role of looking after her as well. Even though they were very difficult times, I also think that it was a real gift to be able to look after my grandfather during that time and to be there for him when he needed assistance. It was hard to watch my grandfather as I had known him slip away. Doubly hard was the irony that he had said for years that the one thing he never wanted was to develop Alzheimer’s, having watched his own grandfather develop Alzheimer’s. In those days families did not question what the head of the household, the man, did, and the family lost its house and everything else. He was acutely aware of that.
There were some funny things. It was very sweet to watch how excited my grandfather would be every time I came in with what was then my newborn baby. He would say, “Wow! I get to meet my great grandson for the first time!” He got to meet his great grandson for the first time every single day! It was very sweet that he was genuinely excited. It was disappointing when it got to the point where he was not able to recognise me; though I am happy to say that that was very close to the end. I was one of the people he managed to remember right up until the end.
Alzheimer’s Australia was there for me the whole time. I did not have any time to attend the many help groups it has. Alzheimer’s Australia was an invaluable resource of information. I did not know anything about Alzheimer’s at that point. It was an amazing referral organisation for a range of dementia services. My grandfather had been a veteran; he had fought in New Guinea. He was eligible for a range of services. The telephone line was a lifesaver to me—Alzheimer’s Australia just being there and volunteers being able to talk through issues and rationalise what was happening to him in what are very irrational circumstances. I finally get a chance to thank Alzheimer’s Australia for what it did for me; it was very personal. It does amazing work. Thank you so much to the volunteers who do what they do. My grandfather finally died from Alzheimer’s a few years ago. It is essential that as a matter of urgency the government commit to address the issue of how it is going to respond to the dementia epidemic at a federal level as well as at a state level. It does mean seriously committing to research, and to education and training on dementia. It means providing services to families supporting people with dementia as well as services to people living with dementia. It means providing appropriate, high-quality facilities and making sure we allow people with dementia to live in quality environments.
I urge members who have not experienced what it is like to have a loved one with dementia to find out more. Frankly, I hope it never happens to anyone if it has not happened. It is a big issue. It is something we will all have to deal with more and more into the future. I would start with Alzheimer’s Australia because that is an extraordinary organisation doing extraordinary work.