Several years ago I read a Biden Wiki about his life. About 20 years ago he had brain surgery twice for some problem, I think it was an aneurism. He had some permanent cognitive difficulties after those surgeries. My husband died at home after my caring for him after 10 years with progressing Altzheimers, he was 75. Since a lot of people have Alzheimers including possibily Biden and Putin, I am going to go into some detail about the progression of my husband’s decline. If you are not interested skip it.
Thirteen years before his death, he worked all day as a teacher, then drove 3 hours to meet me where I was working a trade show. As we ate a late supper he asked, “Is my mother still alive.” “No, she died 10 years ago.” “Oh.” Soon after his education program moved to a new school and he had trouble functioning because there was too much new information to remember well. He had to retire at age 66. I took over the family financial management. My mother died about this time. When we drove to clean out her storage unit every 30 seconds he would ask when the next turn was. I had no license, and he drove until 10 months before he died. His reflexes and understanding of traffic laws were fine, but I had to tell him where to turn. His license renewal was needed, but in the exam he could not say the word green when shown a light although he still recognized it meant GO. I finally got my licnse. My father died 2 years after my mother. We drove many times to NJ to work on his rental properties. My husband still recognized places we had traveled years before to visit, but could not remember new places we were now passing. Once there was a huge flock of geese blocking the road we had to carefully drive through. He did remember that place subsequently.
Five years before he died we drove a thousand miles to decide whether to keep or sell property he and brother had inherited. We decided to exchange that land for a place closer to home. We went there often and and slept under an open shed roof. He would wake up and say “I have to go to work.” “No, dear, you are retired, go back to sleep.” After a lot of this I decided, OK, you want to work we’ll make this shed into a cabin. He agreed, and since we had no electricity, I would mark a board, show him the line and ask him to saw it. This included 2 x 10” timbers. He could do any job that required continuous action, like sawing or sweeping. He could not remember an instruction for more than 15 seconds. I was repairing roof damage and he kept moving the ladder intil I yelled, “Put it back I’m working up here.” He could not see me from the ground. We built a 13’ by 16’ cabin with no power tools.
Back home , 6 years before he died I could tell him 3 things I needed at the store and he would buy them. Then I had to start giving him a short list. Finally at about 4 years he would stop to talk to a friend and forget he had the list and come home. Three years before he died we moved to a nearby house we also owned which had the bathroom attached to the bedroom. He would awake at 4 am and want to go out and walk the city streets. It was easier to keep him in with the bedroom door locked. Sometimes I had to struggle to get him to stay in bed. He was 5’11”, I was 5’4”. Finally, he would ask, “Why are we doing this (struggling)?” “I don’t know, dear, lets just go back to sleep.” “OK” I kept giving him his supplements and he was able to help carry groceries from the store and wall up the steps to the door, and upstairs from kitchen to bedroom. Seven months before he died he developed bathroom issues. He was also taking medication for paranoid perceptions, thinking the neighbors were a problem. By this time he did not talk much, but could answer simple questions. I don’t know if he knew I was his wife. One day we were watching the news and a politician he didn’t like made a pronouncement. “Bull shxx,” my husband said, so at least part of his mind still was working. Four months befoe he died he had a seizure. Afterwards we went to the VA hospital where he was being treated and discussed his advanced directives with 2 doctors. They had me ask him if he wanted special treatment. He did not understand them, but when I asked, “Do you want to stay at home, or get IVs and tube feeding at the hospital. “NO.” he exclaimed. We did this twice, and when he became unable to walk 6 days before he died, I was able to get final phone instructions from those doctors, and from a hispice aid who visited daily.
What I learned is that a person with Alzheimers can do a lot more than is evident from their ability to talk, if they are guided according to their remaining abilities and wishes. Medication for Alzheimers and mental issues, and supplements can be very helpful in delaying total helplessness. Probably primitive man could sit with family, make his arrows or prepare food, and do other simple useful tasks. As the end approached, while they could still walk OK, they might go out in the night to pee, get lost and die. Thus they no longer would be a burden to the tribe in their final helplessness. Therefore, I think the Alzheimers gene served a useful purpose where food was a scarce resource. My husband always wanted to go out when he was hungry and I would have to give him a snack, and watch him carefully while I finished cooking a meal. He was mostly Scotch with some Canadian indian.
That’s a tldr post. I will read it when I have the time and willingness.
Thank you for such an insightful view on this disease.
Well you certainly know what dementia is all about.
I took care of my wife for 7 years before having to put her is a nursing home. I did that because she lost control of her bowels in public and in bed, also had several falls , and started to roam.
I visit her about 5 days a week. She is doing OK physically now, but mentally it is all downhill. At least she still recognizes me as her husband.-Tom
Thanks glee’.
Thanks for your post, and you deserve great credit for nursing your husband through his battle with Alzheimer’s. I’ve known families where the burden became to great (from their perspective) and the loved one was deposited into a nursing home. In my experience, they decline rapidly after being institutionalized. One of my sister-in-laws lasted barely a year and she suffered two falls (one resulting in a broken hip) while in the care of a highly-regarded facility.
Someday, I think we will get an insider account of Biden’s struggle with dementia while in the White House. It will shock a lot of people. Like many patients in severe cognitive decline, he has good days and many bad ones. We’ll eventually discover what drugs/treatments were used to keep him propped up and looking at the teleprompter. It won’t be a pretty picture.
I believe those weekend trips to Delaware are being used to treat the various conditions he’s suffering from. The USSS has conveniently “lost” visitor logs to his Delaware residences, so we don’t know who’s coming and going. I’m guessing his regular visitors include medical specialists and they don’t want their names appearing on the White House logs.
Thanks for your post, and you deserve great credit for nursing your husband through his battle with Alzheimer’s. I’ve known families where the burden became to great (from their perspective) and the loved one was deposited into a nursing home. In my experience, they decline rapidly after being institutionalized. One of my sister-in-laws lasted barely a year and she suffered two falls (one resulting in a broken hip) while in the care of a highly-regarded facility.
Someday, I think we will get an insider account of Biden’s struggle with dementia while in the White House. It will shock a lot of people. Like many patients in severe cognitive decline, he has good days and many bad ones. We’ll eventually discover what drugs/treatments were used to keep him propped up and looking at the teleprompter. It won’t be a pretty picture.
I believe those weekend trips to Delaware are being used to treat the various conditions he’s suffering from. The USSS has conveniently “lost” visitor logs to his Delaware residences, so we don’t know who’s coming and going. I’m guessing his regular visitors include medical specialists and they don’t want their names appearing on the White House logs.
Madam,
You have my deep and abiding sympathies. And there will be a special place in Heaven for you having stuck by your husband for so many years when so many selfish people these days would have left.
My sincerest regards and thank you for your husband’s service.