Association urges patience and love for people living with Alzheimer’s disease

With the goal of raising awareness and increasing public knowledge about Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Association hosted a health fair on Friday, September, 19, 2025, at the old treasury building in Kingstown.

“Our aim also is to assist persons to understand what the condition is about and how to live with it in a way that does not take away their humanity,” President of the Association, Sylvia Gould told SEARCHLIGHT.

“Our emphasis is on Alzheimer’s disease because, of all of the dementias, it is the most prevalent.” Gould explained that as serious as this condition is, it is not quite acknowledged.

“One of the things about Alzheimer’s disease is that it is not understood,” she added, and went on to outline that individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia often experience a range of symptoms, including memory loss, impaired decision-making, and difficulty with comprehension.

“The first thing that is noticed is that persons’ memories are affected. “Memory is affected, decision making is affected.. anything that has to do with understanding…’’, she pointed out.

She stressed the importance of public education in making the experience less traumatic for both the affected individuals and their families, as well as caregivers.

“When people understand what the affected person is going through, they can make that person’s life less traumatic.”

Gould highlighted that there are some factors, such as heredity, that make one prone to developing Alzheimer’s disease, but outside of this, there are preventative steps that persons can embrace, including having regular health checks, particularly monitoring blood pressure and blood sugar. She explained that unmanaged conditions like hypertension and diabetes could increase the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

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