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Old 2012-04-28, 08:37   Link #21093
TinyRedLeaf
Moving in circles
 
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
It's not really news but, still, the topic bears thinking about.

In the capital of the forgetful
Quote:
By Louis Theroux
Phoenix, Arizona
(April 25, Wed)


NANCY Vaughan is a charming and lively conversationalist, a friendly host and, at nearly 90, still has much of the sparkle and attractiveness that must have turned many heads when she was in her heyday as a model in New York.

But she also has trouble remembering her own name, or the fact that she is married (62 years and counting), or indeed, much of the time, some of the basics of the English language.

Nancy is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's.

On a sunny late autumn day, I visited Nancy and her husband, John, at their home in Phoenix, Arizona. We made friendly conversation in the kitchen and for moments, I could have believed that she was mentally well. Her smile is still engaging; she is physically fit, and she can sometimes carry on brief exchanges. When I asked if she had any problems with her memory, she said an emphatic "no".

But when John posed the question directly, "Nancy, what is your name?", she looked a bit baffled. Asked for her surname, Nancy said "Bread", a little uncertainly. I wondered whether this might be her maiden name, but was told that was Johnson.

Nancy and John's life has become surreal and stressful in many ways. John has taken to wearing a name tag with his name on it to help Nancy identify him. He has also stuck a copy of their wedding photo up in the kitchen so that, in her confused moments, he can prove to her that they are married.

John cares for Nancy full-time. They have no children, so there is no family help take the strain, and they are not in the financial position to have Nancy go into a care home. Aged 88, John is the full-time carer for someone with many of the same needs as an adult-sized toddler.

John and Nancy are by no means exceptional. There is a slow-moving tsunami of dementia advancing towards us as our population ages.

It's reckoned that one in eight Americans aged 65 and over has Alzheimer's — the most common cause of dementia. Nearly half of the over 85s has the disease. As medical science has become better and better at prolonging our lives, the mental side of things hasn't kept pace.

Nowhere is this more in evidence than in Phoenix. For years, Phoenix has been a mecca for America's elderly, who are attracted by the year-round sun and dry desert heat.

Now, increasingly, it is a kind of capital of the forgetful and the confused. Not coincidentally, Phoenix is also pioneering the way dementia sufferers are cared for and treated.

One of the top destinations for people in need of round-the-clock care is Beatitudes, a gated retirement complex, which has, tucked among its many buildings, a memory-support annex. Most of the residents at Beatitudes have seriously impaired memories, to the point where they can no longer look after themselves, are quite often confused, and occasionally have delusions.

Beatitudes staff use medication as little as possible. They try to be flexible and adapt to the quirks of the residents and the symptoms of their condition, letting them wander the corridors at night should they feel urge, letting them bathe, eat and sleep on their own schedule, and offering them snacks and chocolate at any time of the day or night.

I spent the best part of two weeks at Beatitudes, observing their practices first-hand.

CONTINUED ON BBC NEWS

Louis Theroux is an English broadcaster best known for his documentaries in the television series Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends, his BBC2 Specials and When Louis Met... His career started off in journalism and bears influences of notable writers in his family such as his father, Paul Theroux and brother Marcel Theroux. He currently works with the BBC producing his documentaries and popular TV series.
The comments at the bottom were... sobering.

My dad has vascular dementia where your memory goes down in stages and over the last 12 months since having to put him into a home we've watched him disappear from us almost completely. My advice to anyone who has a relative or friend with this disease is keep going and enjoy your time with that person. Hearing that "old story" for the umpteenth time isn't so bad as you will miss hearing it when they are lost to you and it's just a shell that looks and sounds like them with a totally different personality to the one you have known and loved. RIP dad and know we will look after your shell properly until it passes away.
Ian H, Bury St Edmunds

My husband has Alzheimer's and I have no family to turn to for help. I would just like to say that there is no one out there to help the carer of the Alzheimer's person and it is very very hard trying to cope on your own when I am 5ft 1in and my husband is 6ft 6in and does become very aggressive. I get so desperate for some kind of support. I am just told to ring the police!
Lyn Nailer, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire

I work as a hospital cleaner in a geriatric ward. A lot of of them never have visitors. Despite their dementia, they all do remember well that they have a family that is never here for them. They call their names into emptiness, get angry and cry at the thought of abandon. That does not help them "organize" their thoughts and they drown further away from reality.
Luc, Montreal, Canada
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