Respecting someone who has a memory impairment

(Chapter 25 Caregiver Tips in my book)

Please understand, that as someone who is living with a memory impairment, I can be sensitive about certain things that probably wouldn't bother someone else. For instance, I can make fun of me doing something silly due to my memory problems, but if my friend were to be the first one to laugh, I might not feel that way. I think, as a patient, we do have to laugh at ourselves.

What bothers me is when a caregiver is poking fun, laughing about the mistakes the patient makes. I think that everyone deserves mutual respect. My heart just breaks for the patients when I am social media and I see pictures of the patient doing something wrong, or on their dying bed, etc. Please try to remember that when they make mistakes or say the wrong things, it is not their fault! If they had a choice, they wouldn't have a horrible disease that is slowly destroying their brain! I know that caregivers need to laugh and vent, but does it have to be at the expense of your loved ones? You might respond, “well they won't even know that I did or said this about them”. I think that we have to think about how “WE” would want to be treated in that given situation.