Do AD victims fear death?

[Justin Hale]

This is probably an impossible question to answer, but I have been
wondering. Here's how it came about.

Around the first of July a man, 77 years old, living by himself, walked out
of the facility where he lived and his absence wasn't noticed for more than
a day. (There was a real complicating factor: His son had died and his
family was trying to get everyone together for the funeral and the
Alzheimer's patient was simply forgotten.)

After a day or so a concentrated search was started and announcements with
photos were printed in the paper, all with no results. After 20 days a
young girl walking her dog in an undeveloped area in the desert about a mile
from the facility -- this took place in New Mexico -- came across the badly
decomposed body.

Did this elderly gentleman become panicky and frightened when he couldn't
find his way back? I presume that he died of exposure and dehydration, our
temperatures have been running around 100� in the afternoon. Or did he
simply lie down and go to sleep?

His tragic death has been on my mind for several days.

Ken Bland

[nada]

They fear death as do most people. Later they come to desire death and
wanting to go home to heaven.
They are lost in time and or terrified to different degrees, of their
circumstances. They become lost, in time, regress to memory and the
sanctuary and security, of Mother, Father, childhood and home. They will
take off headed home or some familiar destination.

[Justin Hale]

My reflection at the bottom

>>
> They fear death as do most people. Later they come to desire death and
> wanting to go home to heaven.
> They are lost in time and or terrified to different degrees, of their
> circumstances. They become lost, in time, regress to memory and the
> sanctuary and security, of Mother, Father, childhood and home. They will
> take off headed home or some familiar destination.

Thank you Nada.

We -- my wife and I -- know a couple now living in Montana. The husband is
well into the seventh stage of AD and we can communicate with his wife
easily about this terrible disease. She writes that her husband is so far
gone, detached from all reality, that she doubts that he has only a few
emotions left. He no longer recognizes his wife, their four children, other
should-be familiar faces, nothing. He doesn't speak any longer but he can
hear and apparently understand some language. The caregiver gave this man a
shower recently, to which he vehemently objected, but five minutes later
when the caregiver asked if he was still mad at her he shook his head and
smiled, apparently completely oblivious of the confrontation. The wife says
that her husband probably knows the difference between hot and cold, but any
consequences of overexposure are meaningless. She said that this local
victim probably realized he was in unfamiliar surroundings and wanted to
return home, but had no recollection of where he was nor where "home" was
located.

And I realize that one cannot generalize when it comes to interpreting the
reaction of Alzheimer's disease patients. Our friend has lived now for over
eight years, his dementia progressing slowly but steadily. His wife says
that he seems to be in good, if not robust, health, able to move about in a
wheelchair (although he gets lost and someone has to find him).

I appreciate your comments.

Ken Bland

[nada]

Unfortunately our Mother went through very very similar stage. The
further the disease progresses the faster it progresses.
he and they are in my prayers.

[Mary Gordon]

Ken, that is like asking if a two year old fears death. I think it's
too abstract a concept for a person in mid to later AD to grasp.
However, did he feel fear ? Absolutely.

This gentleman likely had agnosia - in other words, his brain damage
was such that nothing looked familiar. His brain had lost the ability
to recognize what it saw. Often, a person in this condition will just
keep walking, often in a straight line. They don't have the ability to
reason through a course of action that might save them - like seeking
help, looking for shelter, heading for buildings where people might
be. They just keep going until they collapse from exposure,
dehydration etc.

The sad part is that if he had a doctor and a family who was at all
involved in his life, someone should have been paying attention to his
condition, and acting to ensure his safety. Safety trumps every other
consideration - because no one wants to be haunted by the death of a
loved one from neglect, whether intentional or accidental.

M.

[Brick]

There are different strokes for different foks. my wife and I are 72 and 73
respectively. We have openly discussed the concept of our deaths for many
years. If I fear death it is the anxiety of worrying how she will be cared
for
if she outlives me. Nathalie is in stage six alzheimers, but otherwise she
is
quite healthy. She has never been exposed to isolation in strange
surroundings
except for hospital time. She does experience confusion with attendant
anxiety. Were she to be isolated at the same time, I'm sure she would
experience fear born out of the confusion and anxiety. To my knowledge,
she does not fear death. And that is based on discussions long before she
lost cognitive power. I doubt that she can identify the concept of 'death'
today, much less be afraid of it.

--
Brick (Youth is wasted on young people)