I did a quiz on Sunday evening and aced it all, except for one question about our chances of getting dementia at age 85 or above. The quiz happened at a roadshow near Punggol MRT Station. It was right next to a mini bazaar but wasn’t extremely popular, as you would have probably guessed. It was organised by LIEN Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Disease Association, or ADA.
One of the volunteers pointed out to me this particular info board which states that “1 in every 2 persons aged 85 years & above has dementia”. So if you and your spouse live till 85 and beyond, my goodness, it’s highly likely one of you would have dementia. And in my books, I think the one with dementia is the “luckier” one. The caregiver is, arguably, the one who suffers a lot more.
As I’d completed the quiz, I was given a chance to spin the wheel and win a prize. The yellow triangle represents the top prize, I believe, and that’s what I got! 
A copy of ‘All That Remains’ by James Tan. It is a graphic novel about dementia that is based on true stories! It also ends with tips on how to care for people with dementia.
If my memory serves me well, in about ten years or so, we’ll have some 100,000 people with dementia right here in Singapore. An absolutely mind-boggling figure. And unlike diseases like diabetes, people can’t manage dementia themselves. Family members, friends, neighbors, colleagues, etc, will all have to be willing to chip in.
Hopefully, with more of these roadshows, we’ll become a more inclusive society and better equipped to care for a growing number of people with dementia.