In 2004 Peter Williamson was a Director of an international sales company, now the father-of-nine needs 24-hour care after being diagnosed with vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Peter’s wife Jan admits that life for the Coolum couple has changed dramatically since the shock diagnosis in 2015.

“A lot of patients are different… But they leave taps on, turn the stove on – dangerous things that you have to watch,” Jan says.

“Unless you live with it, it’s very hard to understand dementia.

“For three weeks Peter never slept, he was wandering around the house wrapping things up and stripping beds - he didn’t know what he was doing. I just couldn’t manage, so Peter went into hospital where they tried many different medications.”

Unfortunately, Peter’s story is not unique as the number of people living with dementia on the Sunshine Coast continues to grow – in fact, the rate is expected to double by 2030.

Wishlist is hoping to raise $30,000 to establish a specially-designed healing environment to improve the outcomes of local dementia patients.

“This will allow us to purchase equipment and various therapeutic resources for the
dementia ward at Nambour Hospital and help elderly patients most in need,” Wishlist CEO Lisa Rowe said.

Nambour Hospital 2FW Acute & Restorative Care Unit (ARC) Nurse Unit Manager Fran Brewster said more than 413,106 Australians were living with dementia.

“Dementia is the second-leading cause of death of Australians contributing to 5.4 percent of all deaths in males and 10.6 percent in females each year,” she said

“It is important that we have a sense of the person before their diagnosis, to better understand their life and achievements. This enables us to tailor activities to patient’s interests and hobbies.  We want to create stimulating environments that relate to a patient’s life experiences.

“This makes a valuable contribution to the quality of life for our older patients, their self-respect and dignity.”

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