The behavior described in the article can be seen in all dementia patients.
The article is written like it is a rare and unfortunate story which we watch from the sidelines, but only the age of Lee makes it unique. Many of us will experience exactly the same with a beloved one ( probably a parent, maybe a significant other).
Every single part of the story except the age, all the changes in the behavior —small and large—, how hard it is to live and/or manage someone with dementia, how difficult it is to come to terms with it, etc, happens to an awful lot of people. It's just that it's not a subject people talk easily about.
Last but not least, doctors are often the worst offenders in the progress of this disease. Most doctors only care about the "now", solve the problem at hand, send the patient home and be done with it. Surgery, psychotropic drugs and other forms of treatment can speed-up dementia progress. Alas, there is no incentive to research, document and act on this.
I’m sure you mean well, but your comment came across as a little harsh to me, reducing the very real and very saddening decline of such a talented person, along with the people close to him that witnessed this decline firsthand, to a “so? This happens to everyone”. I agree it’s something that we should continue researching, but I don’t think it’s really fair to claim that doctors are apathetic to the issue.
The article is written like it is a rare and unfortunate story which we watch from the sidelines, but only the age of Lee makes it unique. Many of us will experience exactly the same with a beloved one ( probably a parent, maybe a significant other).
Every single part of the story except the age, all the changes in the behavior —small and large—, how hard it is to live and/or manage someone with dementia, how difficult it is to come to terms with it, etc, happens to an awful lot of people. It's just that it's not a subject people talk easily about.
Last but not least, doctors are often the worst offenders in the progress of this disease. Most doctors only care about the "now", solve the problem at hand, send the patient home and be done with it. Surgery, psychotropic drugs and other forms of treatment can speed-up dementia progress. Alas, there is no incentive to research, document and act on this.