On 18 December 2019, I, Tomaž Gržinič, Slovenian member of the European Working Group of People with Dementia (EWGPWD), gave a short lecture for students at the Faculty of Social Work, in Ljubljana.
I was invited to share my story about how my life has changed since my diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. I am pleased that my thoughts and positive attitude towards life was so well-received. I was told that I literally gave the attendees goose bumps! I try to always be open-minded and optimistic and to see the future in the brightest way possible. In my introduction, I told participants how I coped with the diagnosis and managed to reorganise my daily routine in order to live life to the fullest. I stressed that I nothing has made me happier than realising what great friends I have.
Even though orientation is still the biggest challenge, on an everyday basis I continue with my leisure time activities, just as I always have done – playing tennis, ping pong, editing magazines, hiking, painting, and gardening. Currently, I am more worried, due to changes in my medical therapy, but I remain passionate about all the things I love. I gave the students a take-home message that I believe we all should take into account: “Even with dementia life is still beautiful”.
I also told participants that I support all campaigns and awareness-raising events about dementia, but am convinced that timely diagnosis is not the only key to promote a healthy and active lifestyle with dementia. I think we should improve prevention techniques as well as improving screening tests to detect mild signs of dementia in preclinical stages. In conclusion, I said that the sooner we know what we are dealing with, the better the outcome would be. In the closing session, a few cognitive exercises were also done. The students were impressed and grateful to hear my story and to put a face to dementia. It was an honour to be invited.
