You always hear the saying, "Expert in the field" or "Professional opinion" usually prefaced by Dr. So and so. What makes someone an "expert" on "knowledgeable" in an area? In my opinion it's not the doctor, nurse, or even the hospice aide. It is you the caregiver. You live with your loved one, you KNOW them. We know all the "technical" terms the professionals use, because we have researched it thoroughly. We know what it's like to live in a day in the life of our loved one.
Let's take it another step further: the REAL expert in the field is the one going through whatever it is. When I was a cancer patient, I knew what it was like to be a cancer patient. The diabetic knows what it's like to be a diabetic. The mental health patient knows what it's like to struggle with the demons of mental illness. Then why wouldn't it be the same for a dementia patient? Yes, I know they have trouble expressing themselves, but so does the autistic child, the mentally ill patient, for that matter the terminally ill cancer patient. Why are we so quick to dismiss the one actually experiencing the illness? I think it is fear of the unknown.
What we don't understand scares us. We humans fear what we don't understand. Animals don't. Animals trust. Trust in what you say? Good question. They trust their instincts, they trust their Creator, they trust the safety of the herd. The domesticated trust us... Humans. Maybe they shouldn't, we aren't all that trustworthy.
