Losing one's own memory is not a joke, it is a bitter pill about erasing a lifetime. Some of us will be in that situation, but then as a nation we don't want to face the mirror.
To be honest, as an individual, in all probability I am going to become Demented; as they call it. And to be honest again, it gives me the chills to even think that my entire life will get faded without anyone having a solution.
The respected researchers and advocates about Dementia Care have a lot of insights about Memory Care and Alzheimer's, but then I wonder how many of them have written about Dementia while facing Dementia?
The larger point of debate is, how do we know what is going in the mind of a person who has or is on the verge of Memory loss?
As they say, the person who is facing the situation knows best, hence I write about this with a certain amount of confidence.
In my opinion, the worst thing which can happen to an individual is to lose his or her past and history. Though some people may remember their childhood or certain phases of life, but then, forgetting one's own memory is probably something we will not like to even dream about.
Dementia as the umbrella word says, and to be an advocate who has seen Memory loss from close quarters is not a matter to be taken lightly especially in India. As the population grows it is natural for people to live longer which means more people will be getting Dementia.
There is no rocket science to understand that Old Age Care is going to become a serious concern for the country; not because we are a well to do country, but because we are growing in a fragmented manner which is not in the best interest for the country.
The complexities of Memory loss is not a linear equation, it has its own mathematical formulas which we have not taken seriously so far. India as a country has not even seen the tip of the iceberg because with a population size like ours the tip itself is much larger than the entire population of many countries.
The larger point of debate is, as more people land up with different formats of Dementia, what do we do as a family, community or as a country? Do we discard the peps who don't even recognise their own children or do we send them to the dumping ground?
Fortunately or unfortunately, India still has the family caregiving comet, and we are the last generation of the so called Sandwich generation.
Eldercare sector is busy experimenting with different formats of bricks and mortar, but where will the trained manpower come from?
India is at a transition phase where we still say that, "Still Loving You" and "I will do anything for Love", but then the entire fabric of family relations are going to change and it is at that time we will regret that, some actions should have been taken as of yesterday.
Pankaj Mehrotra
Founder - Elderly Care India