LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- A virtual tour is giving people a glance at life with dementia. Few really know the daily obstacles unless they have it.
"For us to understand their limitations, how they see the world and walk through the world," Eddie Squires, with Senior Helpers said. "It can be emotional."
It's a humbling experience.
"You go through it and it's like a light bulb goes off. I now understand what they're doing or thinking," Squires said.
"We see it everyday. A lot of families are really stressed out trying to care for someone at home," Cliff Whalin, with Wesley Manor Retirement Community in Louisville said.
Whalin says it's possibly the toughest job one could have. The role of caregiver.
"We want to make sure they can relate to someone who has dementia and walk a few steps in their shoes," Whalin said.
Squires specializes in customized home care plans to help ease the burden for all involved in similar situations. He takes a box full of gear across Louisville, where he can simulate what life is like for someone with dementia or Alzheimers.
"We're going to have goggles."
When you put them on, your vision becomes distorted and limited.
"The mits are going to simulate nephropathy and arthritis."
Then come the shoe inserts with spikes which add to the physical limitations.
"We have a headset which has background noise."
From sirens, phones ringing, and babies crying, "they're going to hear those sounds a lot of times and not be able to remember how to identify them, so it makes them scared and confused," Squires said.
Then, there are day to day tasks most of us take for granted.
"You're going to write a grocery list, put 17 cents in a change purse, put the belt through the pant loops and match 6 pairs of socks," Squires told Whalin, while demonstrating the tour.
It's not as easy as it looks.
"How was the background noise?" Squires asked.
"The sirens came on and that startled me. That was really loud," Whalin said.
The caregivers at Wesley Manor have similar reactions.
"They say, I had no idea how difficult it was," Whalin said.
Whalin says it scratches the surface, but gives you more appreciation for the person battling such a debilitating disease.
The public is invited to take part in the next virtual tour on Thursday, March 22, at Wesley Manor (5012 East Manslick Road). You can sign up for a time between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Call 969-3277 to reserve a spot. It's about a 15 minute tour. It's not recommended for people with dementia.