Janine Karlsen owns Home Instead, a business that supports seniors in their own homes.
Many of her clients live with health challenges, including Alzheimer’s disease.
“Many of them have dementia and it’s just really common,” Karlsen told Global News.
Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia.
It often affects older people, so when Karlsen herself was diagnosed with early onset of Alzheimer’s at the age of 58, it was hard to process.
“Disbelief,” the Kelowna woman said. “I realized that I will be dealing with everything that the people we take care of are dealing with, maybe not right now but at some point.”
Karlsen said she did have signs prior to her diagnosis but attributed them to other things, including the possibility of long COVID.
“It was mixing up my words. I would switch words, it would usually start with the same letter,” Karlsen said. “And then there were times when I just couldn’t find the name of, like, my sister-in-law.”
On Thursday morning, Karlsen shared her story at the annual Breakfast to Remember event put on by the Alzheimer’s Society of B.C.
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“The majority of British Columbians have a personal connection to dementia,” said the society’s CEO Jennifer Lyle. “About two out of three British Columbians have a personal connection.”
The breakfast event raises awareness and funds for programs and research to improve patient outcomes.
It also helps break down the continued stigma around the disease.
“One of the things we saw here is how it brings the conversation about dementia out into the forefront because it can be a scary topic that people don’t like to talk about,” Lyle said.
According to the society, there are currently 85,ooo people in B.C. living with dementia.
“That number is growing so we know that by 2050, for example, we are going to be closer to 250,000 people,” Lyle said.
It’s a number that includes people diagnosed long before becoming a senior.
“One of the misconceptions we see about Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia is that it only affects older people, and that’s just not the case,” Lyle said.
“We have people who are connected to us who have received a diagnosis in their 30s, 40s or their 50s.”
Karlsen now among them.
She hopes that going public will help spread awareness.
‘I really want people to understand if there is something a bit weird going on, you should get tested,” Karlsen said.
A diagnosis not only provides access to support but can also involve clinical trials and treatment options that could slow the disease’s progression.
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