Help me to better care for my wife with dementia

"Dementia is a devastating disease that not only takes the spirit from the sufferer it poisons the eco system of the family of the afflicted as they experience a loved one slowly fade away."
Micheline Connery

In August 2018, my wife Irene suffered a stroke and was in the hospital for a week. It seemed at first that she had made a full recovery. But in the following year, she deteriorated, and in October 2019, she was diagnosed as having dementia. There is presently no cure for this condition. I had to give up work and become her full-time caregiver.

I have worked as a supervisor of a robot submarine crew for many years. In 2018 and 2019, the offshore industry went into recession work was impossible to find. I used up our savings during this period. When the Covid-19 pandemic arrived, Irene isolated at once as her immune system did not function well due to having her thyroid removed in 2012 because of throat cancer. She has now been in lockdown for two and a half years. Shortly after lock-down began, Irene developed Sundown Syndrome. When it gets dark, Irene becomes very confused. She does not recognise the house she has lived in for forty-six years. Lack of light in the Scottish winter aggravates this condition. She often panics if I am not in the same room, even though I am still in the house.

I cannot work a regular job because she needs twenty-four-hour care, and my pension barely covers basic living expenses. Irene will need even more care as her condition deteriorates. The only way I can make money to pay for it is through internet marketing. But after a year and very little income, I realised I didn’t know enough to make a living at it.

I have found the online marketing education I need at The Rethink Academy (Paul O’Mahony, https://therethinkacademy.com), which provides courses, workshops, and mentoring. This education comes at a cost; the twelve-month course and lifetime mentoring is £12,000. I have managed to produce the deposit, but I need to come up with the balance.

Irene in 2017

Irene in 2022

 

I expect to be earning by June this year and able to pay back next year. If the donors do not want refunds, my intention then is to divide the money between three charities Dementia UK, Alzheimer’s Research and Marie Curie

Next year I will have published a book and will send signed copies to all donor,

See also article in Scottish daily Record  
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-pensioner-sundown-syndrome-unable-26513212