– I remember that Sunday evening when dad gathered everyone in the living room and told them that he had been diagnosed with dementia. That’s what Alexander Eliassen says. His father is Jan Runar Eliassen. 48 years old, and the youngest participant in the “Dementia Choir”. Alexander remembers that his father waited until after the exam period, so that the conversation would not affect the children’s school work. – I remember that everything fell together a bit and that it was very empty, he says and adds: – It was just a strange feeling. It’s a disease that we don’t really know much about and haven’t heard of any young people having it. Choir director Kim Wigaard hires Ingrid Gjessing Linhave and 11 choir members in the Dementia Choir. Photo: Anna Sørmarken Vestly / news – We gathered in the living room and came up with the message. I remember there were tears and uncertainty about the future. How fast it goes and all those things, says Jan Runar Eliassen. Jan Runar Eliassen is the youngest participant in the “Dementia Choir”. He had just turned 45 when he got the disease. Photo: Anna Sørmarken Vestly / news – It wasn’t exactly a party atmosphere, he laughs. Over 100,000 people have dementia in Norway today. Most people are over 65, but younger people also get the disease. By 2050, the number of people with dementia is expected to more than double, according to FHI. Don’t know what tomorrow looks like Alexander says that one of the most difficult things about finding out about the diagnosis is uncertainty about what the future looks like. Both in the short and long term. – You don’t know where you will end up later. It is actually quite tough and difficult. That it is very unpredictable, you cannot plan anything ahead of time. He says that they have become better at focusing on small moments in everyday life, when it has become more difficult to know how things will go. – Dad likes to go to a spontaneous hockey match, we can go play a bit of Frisbee golf or a bit of padel tennis. In any case, I really appreciated the little simple winks. Alexander and Jan Runar give each other a good hug after the concert at Chat Noir. Photo: Anna Sørmarken Vestly / news Collecting money Even he admits that he has seen the entire TV series twice, and that it has all been a positive experience for the family. – One was perhaps a little unsure before it was going to be on TV. If everyone turned out to be positive. But people have been. There have been supportive words and thoughts. Dad gets messages all the time. From both known and unknown, he says. Alexander Eliassen promised to run a half-marathon if the collection reached the target. Now it looks like he will have to run a full marathon. Photo: Caroline Utti / news Alexander now wants to use the focus the TV series has seen on the case, to collect money for further research. – When it gets so much attention, I think it makes sense that you don’t just watch the TV series and put it aside, but that we think about those who are in the choir and the other hundreds of thousands with the diagnosis. He is left with the impression that someone previously thought that dementia was only something that affected the elderly in society. – When we now see that it is people in their 40s and 50s who get it, and it is written in the news that in a few years there will be even more younger people. Maybe people who are younger than 40 too, he says and adds: – Then I think it’s time we do something or other, and try to find out something about it. And the only way we can do that is if funds come in to do it. The original goal for the collection was NOK 50,000. So far, more than 350,000 have come in. – I think it is absolutely fantastic. It is touching that something like this is being initiated. And it is absolutely incredible how many people have given money, says Jan Runar Eliassen about his son’s collection. – There are still 40 days to go, so it would have been fun if we got over NOK 600,000 and Alexander had to run a marathon, he says. Alexander already has to run a half marathon. But if they collect more than NOK 600,000, he must lay out 42,195 metres. Jan Runar Eliassen with his wife Marion and their five children after the concert with Demenskoret. Photo: Anna Sørmarken Vestly / news Thank you for your efforts: – Makes it possible for us to support dementia research The money collected goes to the National Association for Public Health. They are, among other things, an interest organization for people with dementia and their relatives. – It means a lot to us that Jan Runar’s family has started this collection to generate income for us. We greatly appreciate the trust that we will use the money well, says secretary general of the National Association for Public Health, Mina Gerhardsen. Mina Gerhardsen is secretary general of the National Association for Public Health. – The fact that so many people are helping to support Alexander’s collection gives us the opportunity to focus even more on these things, she says and points out that they have close to 200 dementia associations, that they work nationally as political instigators, that they have the Dementia Line and collects money for research. Photo: Anne Elisabeth Næss / The National Association for Public Health She recently met Jan Runar and his wife Marion, and she promised that they will use the money that comes in well. – Such gifts make it possible for us to support dementia research, and to work to ensure that people with dementia and their relatives feel better, says Gerhardsen. – I met Mina Gerhardsen on Monday. She was fully aware of the collection, and promised that the money would be used properly. I am concerned that it is used properly, and he promised that. I put my trust in that, says Jan Runar Eliassen. Gerhardsen says that they feel that “everyone” is now talking about the Dementia Choir, and that the response has been fantastic. – With us, we notice it in more members, more donors and a doubling of the number of callers to our Dementia Line, says Gerhardsen. She says that many people now want to start their own choir or singing activity. – We hope that the Dementia Choir would provide both more knowledge about dementia and increase commitment, and it has really provided that. Some of the reactions I have most appreciated are people who say that “now it is easier to talk about dementia”. This series is helping to make a difference both for those with dementia and their relatives. You can watch “The Dementia Choir” whenever you want on news TV: The big evening has come. Finally, the choir will get to show what they have practiced all autumn – with all their closest friends present.
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– Everything falls a bit together – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
