In my tutorial with Phil on Monday we talked about me using a personal story about memory loss, so I asked a friend of mine if she would be willing to talk about her dad having dementia, and she immediately said yes! So in addition to the style for my world (knitted) I also have a story now :).
So, yesterday I had the amazing opportunity to interview my friend, let's call her Sophie, about her dad's dementia. She is 20, her dad is in his early 60's and was diagnosed last year, and Sophie told me about her feelings and daily struggles that she, her mum and brother face caring for him, like him having slowed down in motoric abilities, that he needs his food cut, he can't read well anymore and detests a messy household, but also his newfound love for dogs, especially puppies and generally himself almost reverting back into a child.
I have recorded the 8-minute interview and will now focus on extracting the visuals, as for example one time Sophie's dad was supposed to fill the iron with water, but accidentally completely missed the hole and splashed all the water on the dog (it was cold water, luckily). Or him nagging at his family for a half full glass still standing on the dining table, as he sees it as untidy and can't bear to see it now.
I loved listening to her story, even though it made me very sad as there is nothing anyone can do against the brain deteriorating like that, and it is also hereditary so Sophie is very likely to suffer from dementia herself some day, as her Nan did before her dad. But Sophie herself said that joking and keeping in good humour is essential, as the only alternative to laughing is crying.
I would love to transform her words into an animation that does her story justice and inspires.
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