“Our lives get eight”

Geldrop Merlo – Anyone who wants to grow old in good health would be wise to exercise regularly. Someone who walks every day has a better chance of growing old in a healthy way than someone who mainly sits in a chair and watches TV. It’s also better to exercise your brain. The library in Geldrop is a great place to do this.

Jan Diepenbrock (84) lives in Merlo with his wife Laura. Hermann Helbrink (81) lives with his wife Marijke in Geldrop. Jan and Hermann meet each other every week on the second floor of the Geldrop branch of the Dommeldaal library. This is no coincidence. Both are regular visitors to the meetings of the “Society Curiosa”.

Among people
The Curiosa association organizes a lecture every Tuesday from 10.30 am to 12.00 pm for people (especially) with early dementia on topics such as art, music, literature, philosophy and science. In short, the brain is put to work. But that is not the main reason that Jan Diepenbrock attends the meetings. “The older you get, the more you lose friends. Then you can become lonely. That is why I go to the day care center in Nuenen four days a week and to the association in the library in Geldrop once a week. Then I come among people. If I stay at home I will become lonely, even though I am married.” And this is also enjoyable for his wife Laura. “Jan really needs to do something, otherwise he starts to worry and become gloomy. I can’t keep him busy all day. We have a big garden that needs maintenance. We have always done that together, but Jan can no longer do it.

Hermann Helbrink wants to tell you what the lecture was about that morning, but he has lost track of it. He has early onset dementia. “That’s one of the things I sometimes struggle with: I lose track of the thread.” He takes the handout. “Oh yes, about the American presidents.” About eight years ago, he started forgetting things, says his wife, Marieke. “At first his field of vision became smaller. After hip surgery and back surgery, his cognitive abilities gradually deteriorated. You could call it general age-related deterioration.”

Nice result
Of course, old age comes with its drawbacks. For example, Jan Diepenbrock no longer knows how to operate a computer or a telephone, even though he used to give computer courses for SeniorWeb. Hermann and Marijke used to enjoy going on vacation, but that is no longer possible. All four say that they find it annoying when they realize that they can no longer do something. Nevertheless, they still enjoy life. When asked what grade he would give his life, Jan Diepenbrock answers without a doubt: “8!” His wife Laura agrees with this number. Hermann Helbrink is also positive: “8-. No, I can’t complain. It’s there, isn’t it?” he jokes, nodding to his wife Marijke. She has her doubts about the grade. “There are good days, but also busy days with lots of consultations, especially for my husband. They are very stressful. But overall things are going well.”

Visitors to Sociëteit Curiosa lectures pay 3 euros per meeting, including a cup of coffee or tea and a slice of cake. For more information, see www.levgeldrop-mierlo.nl.

This is the seventh in a series of 9 articles about dementia-friendly Gildrop-Merlo. In the next episode, Bethul Verhoeven, her mother Maxime Verhoeven and Michonne van Togel talk about what it means to provide informal care.

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