Before becoming a professional photographer, Carmen Davailus worked as a nurse for forty years. She specialized in caring for the elderly, especially those who had dementia.
Her passion brought her to write a book about families who were severely affected by this disease. Carmen also photographed the patients and included them in the book to raise awareness and to stop the stigma about this condition.
“Most families with dementia sufferers have a hard time dealing with the disease. There is always this fear of letting other family members know because they think that their relatives may no longer want to be the patient,” Carmen mentioned.
The nurse-turned-photographer has since been doing her best to raise awareness about dementia. Although her book is already published, she continues to take photos of the patients and post them on social media.
The pictures show a glimpse of the lives of these patients living with dementia. Carmen hopes that through these photographs, she can encourage people to take care of the elderly, as well as inspire the medical professionals to be more invested in finding a cure for this condition.
However, other people who do not fully understand her work seem to get uncomfortable with some of the pictures. “Some would say that they get disturbed with the other pictures, so I thought of having dogs join the shoot,” Carmen narrated.
Hence, Dogs for Dementia was born. Whenever she takes a photo of a dementia patient, she makes sure to let a dog pose with them as long as they consent to it.
“Some of the patients don’t understand what’s happening. But in the end, they enjoy having dogs by their side. It’s a bit difficult at first, but the hard work is worth it,” the lady recalled.
The photos, of course, were an instant hit. “It’s been proven that people would stop and look at a photo when there’s a dog in it. From there, I get to connect to the viewer and send my message across about dementia,” Carmen proudly said.
Thanks to Carmen, these dogs are unknowingly making an impact and are raising awareness about this disease. Know more about “Dogs for Dementia” in the video below!
Video credit: Youtube KVUE