Thatcher's Alzheimer's Disease Was Evident When She Was 75.

[tekisui]

At the weekend what a number of us have known for a long while became public: Margaret Thatcher is suffering from dementia. Since 2000, and aggravated since by a series of small strokes, the Iron Lady has found her extraordinary mind slipping away from her.

As her daughter Carol describes it in a new memoir, the first time Lady Thatcher's memory lapse became obvious, "I almost fell off my chair. Watching her struggle with her words and her memory, I couldn't believe it. She was in her 75th year but I had always thought of her as ageless, timeless and 100% cast-iron damage-proof. The contrast was all the more striking because, until that point, she'd always had a memory like a website."

Lady Thatcher's condition brings to mind the demise of her great personal and political friend, Ronald Reagan, whose final years were devastated by Alzheimer's. Nancy Reagan uncomplainingly fulfilled the heartbreaking task of nursing him as his mind drifted into oblivion.

http://www.nysun.com/opinion/iron-lady-at-twilight-on-thatchers-legacy/84682/

We can't afford to watch another head of state "drift into oblivion".

Just Say No to Alzheimer's Candidates for President!

[valerief]

1. A whole world watched Bush's brain crumble. Can't tell me it's not Swiss cheese. nt

[Stellabella]

2. Yes, Nancy stood by Ronnie

BUT, and this is a huge but, they had a staff to help. I'm sure he had nurses around the clock, so she didn't have to lift a finger.

Most families whose loved ones develop Alzheimer's have the burden fall directly on them, with little or no help. Nursing homes are expensive, in-home care is through the roof, and most people don't have the time to take a vacation, let alone care for a relative while trying to make ends meet.

This is the point that has to be stressed when Mrs. Reagan's behavior is praised. Compared to most, this was easy for her.

[tekisui]

3. True. But, let's not give Cindy Mccain the chance to be a WH nurse.

Or even an overseer. Let's send the Alzheimer's patient and Cindy back to on of their homes to drift into oblivion.

[demosincebirth]

4. Exactly.