Saturday 26 September 2015

Dementia death

A couple of times I've come across statements online to the effect that deaths from dementia are uniquely horrible. I know some people with dementia do, sadly, die in pain and torment. But many do not. I've written here about my mum's 'dementia death'. I have also read many accounts of the dying moments of people with dementia and some of them clearly just faded away. Indeed, some of them die in their sleep just as some people without dementia do,

People have also stated that what makes the death of a person who has dementia uniquely awful is the way in which loved ones lose the person 'bit by bit'. Of course, this is true in one sense but it's also true that some families find that they can still find and communicate with 'the essence of the person' right up until their death,

It is also true that there are many other truly horrible ways to die. I do not need to spell them out here.

So whilst I understand that the last days or hours of a loved one dying from dementia can sometimes be truly dreadful, I don't see that there is anything to be gained from expecting it to be or claiming that it always is.


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