What Sort Of Things Are Lost when Your Loved One Has Dementia?

Mary Jones reflects on the loss of her husband Bill Jones, Alzheimer’s disease with Lewy Body

The slow loss of so much…little by little

For me, many of these were lost long before November 5, 2019:

Future memories with the love of my life

Plans for our future

The loving embrace of strong arms

A thoughtful man who consistently opened doors for me (houses, stores, cars…)

A fun “Pop” for my grandchildren

A father to my children

My best friend

The sound of his voice

Conversational give and take (long lost)

A mealtime companion

His bright “smiling” eyes (one of the first losses)

A kiss goodnight

A tender hand on my back as I walk

The driver

A personal handyman to fix things

A grocery bag helper

Strong arms to lift or carry heavy things

Someone to pack the car efficiently (another early loss)

A travel companion

A protector

Being part of a couple (this lost “status” is huge)

A partner in prayer

A shoulder to cry on

Someone to laugh with

Someone to share morning coffee or an evening glass of red wine

Someone to make meals for

Someone to help make decisions (I became his decision maker a few years ago…at first informally and then formally)

Warmth of him asleep next to me in bed

A companion

A lover

A best friend

A husband

And more…

Dementia causes a slow fading and deterioration of a person.

There are NO disease modifying treatments.

Dementia deserves more attention.

Dementia deserves more funding for patient and caregiver support and research…for at minimum an effective treatment.

With most other diseases there is hope for stabilizing or improving the outcome.

Right now for people with dementia the eventual outcome is death.

Please pray for increased attention to this very real public health crisis.

Please pray for the day that no one has to face these sort of losses ever again.