“I am a nurse by profession, I have worked in various medical centers for many years, I have been engaged in home health care, I have taken care of my grandfather with Alzheimer’s disease for about 7 years. There has been a great increase in Alzheimer’s disease in Armenia, and I consider it very useful to share the experience of practitioners. It is a difficult job, but when you realize that you need that person and you are able to help him, all the difficulties are left behind.
Having taken care of elder person with Alzheimer’s disease for a long time, I have acquired many skills during my work, developed new mechanisms that make their care easier and change their quality of life. Due to the disease, human cognitive functions are impaired. they have difficulty communicating, they cannot use words correctly, they can be confused about the time and place, they can leave the house and get lost without remembering the way back, they have a number of personal and behavioral changes.
The person caring for them must be patient and always remember that dementia is a brain disease that is not a patient’s choice.
While taking care of these people, you have unique feelings and when you are able to lighten their daily life by thinking of some new trick, you feel great satisfaction and satisfaction that you are taking them one step forward.
As a clinical nurse of the «Alzheimer’s Care Armenia» organization, I transfer my acquired experience and knowledge to the caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease, nurses who communicate with such patients, and I teach them the tricks and measures I have developed to avoid difficult situations. I gladly share my many years of experience and skills with them and I consider that we are doing very useful work. While working with people with this disease, it is very important to have a creative mind and the ability to quickly orientate yourself.
Within the framework of the Brain Health Armenia Project, we conduct regional visits, during which I present to the staff and residents of the local medical center the ways and mechanisms of organizing the care of people with Alzheimer’s disease, which are necessary to know when caring for that patient. I also tell you what solutions are available in case of which problems and what tricks should be used.
I consider awareness activities to be very important, because by being informed about the details of the disease, we can in any way facilitate, prevent and slow down the course of the disease, which in turn enables a person to go through that difficult path more easily.
Along with work, the most important thing in my life is my family, where there should be a lot of love and solidarity. I have 3 grandsons who fill my life and world with unique colors, every minute spent with them gives me new strength and energy. When all members of your family are healthy and successful, your home is peaceful and quiet, all problems are solvable.
I am patient by nature, I like to sympathize with people and help them, thanks to humanity it is possible to solve seemingly impossible problems. When you know that you can help a MAN and change his life, your heart and soul are filled with great satisfaction and love.
Silva Davtyan
Clinical Nurse, Alzheimer’s Care Armenia
