Recent statistics say 1.6m people will be living with dementia by 2040 and that one in three people will be diagnosed with dementia in their lifetime. Despite these statistics, it still feels like a taboo subject and people are often hesitant to share their experiences.
Seeing a loved one receive a dementia diagnosis has a habit of making you feel like you and your family are the only ones experiencing the turmoil. It’s an all-consuming isolation that I don’t think anyone can prepare you for.
My grandma has been living with dementia for a number of years but in 2020, as the pandemic hit, her condition spiralled. Lockdown put an end to any routine she had, and with that, the last bit of control she had over her dementia.
As the disease progressed, she became almost childlike in her worries. We would receive late-night phone calls asking when her mum and dad were coming home, or to tell us she was in a stranger’s house and was worried they would return any minute. It led to my mum taking early retirement from her career and my family becoming full-time carers until she moved into a care home in 2021.
Today, my grandma has days when she’s non-verbal, can only give one-word answers or asks after my grandad, who died in 2009. But every day she lives entirely dependent on 24-hour care and every day we lose her a little more.
When Alzheimer’s Society was announced as CBRE’s corporate charity partner in January, I jumped at the opportunity to raise awareness of dementia – to start conversations in the hope that nobody will have to face a dementia diagnosis alone.
Sharing my own experience with thousands of CBRE colleagues via our charity partner announcement video triggered a flurry of surprising but welcome e-mails and messages from those who had been in similar territory.
At the peak of heightened responsibility for my family, I was yet to start my CBRE career, but I have no doubt that our carer’s policy would have provided invaluable support, notably the unlimited access to Care Concierge, fully funded by the business.
This benefit provides CBRE employees with direct access to a professional who will take the time to listen before providing information and guidance to help navigate the later-life care journey, in either an own-home environment or a care home.
CBRE’s carer policy also allows for an additional five paid days of leave per year for caring responsibilities and a flexible working policy allowing employees the opportunity to request a change to their working pattern.
But as I look forward, CBRE’s Great Property Bike Ride is on the horizon. On 25 June, I will be taking on this challenge, despite only just getting back on a bike for the first time since my childhood.
I am excited to raise money to fund vital support and research, and to continue the essential work of Alzheimer’s Society. The encouragement from my project management and building consultancy colleagues has been amazing, with many of them also taking on the challenge alongside hundreds of other CBRE colleagues and clients.
Though it’ll certainly be a challenge, it’s in no way comparable to the challenge that comes with living with a dementia diagnosis. My hope is to inspire others to be open when they feel like they can’t and encourage those who have been brave enough to talk to continue sharing their caring journeys, while supporting Alzheimer’s Society along the way.
Join the ride at www.cbre.co.uk/events/the-great-property-bike-ride-2024
or donate to Abby at www.justgiving.com/page/abby-shaw-1713182530969
Abby Shaw is a surveyor in CBRE’s project management and building consultancy division
Images from CBRE
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