The 100th anniversary of the evacuation of Gallipoli on December 20 should start a contemplation on the nature of courage and resilience and the quality of bravery in the face of overwhelming odds. Time, distance and the impossibility of experiencing what those young men went through on that sad peninsula separates their experience from our lives in 2015. Their exploits clearly inspire wonder and a deep fascination but for many modern Australians they remain unapproachably distant.
No matter, for we are fortunate to still see examples of inspiring bravery throughout our community; rural firefighters battling a summer bushfire, a courageous bystander who steps into a blazing building or mountainous surf to save a life, a police officer who willingly risks his own life to protect the life and property of others. We find these examples of white-hot courage compelling partly because like the Anzacs at Lone Pine, they are so out of the ordinary and so far from our everyday life experience. We know that few of us will be called upon to ever demonstrate such courage. Perhaps so, but every day Australians living their lives in anonymity in streets and towns across our land demonstrate incredible, constant and unremitting courage in the way they face the challenges of their lives.
Think of the survivors of sexual abuse who has resisted giving in to despair and bitterness and have remade their lives, or the men, women and children receiving long term, debilitating and painful medical treatment – chemotherapy, dialysis and physiotherapy. Consider the families struggling with poverty, mental illness, long term unemployment or domestic violence. Think of them battling through every day, never giving in, never giving up the fight.
At Alzheimer’s Australia I have been fortunate to see countless, incredible examples of pure and unselfish courage. Eighty year old carers standing by their spouse with advanced dementia, learning even at their late stage, the skills they need to care for their dearly loved spouse at home; or the women who have selflessly interrupted their careers and devoted so much time to caring for their own children, then their grandchildren and finally their aged parents. These people demonstrate day in and day out, that the role of being a carer for someone with dementia requires strength, determination and often real courage.
But most striking for me are the men and women facing a diagnosis of younger onset dementia which develops before the 65th birthday. There are an estimated 25,000 Australians in this cohort, many in their forties or fifties.
Dementia is confronting whenever it develops, but imagine it descending when you are mid-career, paying off the mortgage and bringing up teenagers. Imagine the shock of the diagnosis, the loss of memory and capacity, the changes in behaviour, the abandonment of life plans and the realization of an inevitable early death. I have met many such people and am struck so often by their equanimity, humility and by their unrelenting courage. They understand that they will probably lose their memories, their capacity for speech and the ability to recognise their closest loved ones. They know that they will die too early, most probably in a nursing home away from their home and loved ones. They are aware that they will farewell partners, children and grandchildren from conscious thought before they pass from this world and that they will feel the loss of capacity both mental and physical as their dementia develops. They know all of this but overwhelmingly face their futures with tenacity, spirit and courage.
There are many faces to this spirit but one that comes immediately to mind is sixty-seven-year-old Trevor Crosby. Trevor was a successful businessman and farmer and is a loving husband and devoted father, an avid cricketer and golfer. He has recently been diagnosed with younger onset dementia. Trevor is totally aware of what that means and what he can expect. He speaks about that future with a disarming directness. He is under no illusions about what he faces. Despite this he is positive, generous, thoughtful of others, gracious and kind. He has devoted himself to telling his story and advocating for the needs of all people living with dementia and to never give in to the disease that changes his life little by little every day.
I am in awe of Trevor’s courage. He demonstrates as much about courage and bravery as those young men at Anzac Cove one hundred years ago who have taken on such a unique position in the life of our nation.
The Anzac spirit saw bravery in the face of death, selfless care for others who were suffering and a refusal to give into despair. It was real a hundred years ago and it’s still alive and on show across our blessed land every day. Australian heroes don’t just lie in those sad and beautiful cemeteries at Lone Pine, Anzac Cove and in Northern France. They live and breathe amongst us and we are a better nation because of them.
December 2015
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