Elderly AL woman with Alzheimer's didn't realize she was living with her dead husband for a month

[The Straight Story]

DECATUR, Ala. - An elderly woman who suffers from Alzheimer's disease lived with her husband's body for a month after he died, not realizing what happened, authorities said Monday.

The body of Jesse Kirby, 76, was discovered Friday afternoon in his bed when police went to the home to check on the couple, said Morgan County Coroner Jeff Chunn.

Living inside the house was his wife, Doris Kirby, 78, who was hospitalized after the discovery.

The man had numerous health problems including heart issues and apparently died of natural causes in his sleep about four weeks ago, the coroner said.

http://www.turnto23.com/news/us-world/woman-with-alzheimers-found-living-with-dead-spouse-031014

[In_The_Wind]

1. Oh my

Being old, alone and in poor health isn't easy.

[BronxBoy]

4. No it's not....

Hoping she gets the attention and care she needs

[CTyankee]

2. I once had a boss whose husband died by her side in his sleep one night...

She woke up and saw him and she said she knew immediately that he had died. When she told me that story I was really horrified. It turns out he had an abdominal aneurism. It must have been fast and relatively painless because he didn't make any noise, but he had had some health issues. He was only 64.

[LeftyMom]

5. A friend of a friend lost her husband when they were in bed but not sleeping, iykwim.

They were really young too, I don't think he was even 40. Turned out he had a heart defect.

I can't even imagine how she coped.

[CTyankee]

6. well, there are some people who would say that that's the best way to "go out."

But among the aging crowd, who might be on Viagra, it's a real concern.

[marions ghost]

3. Social isolation

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2013/08/dangers_of_loneliness_social_isolation_is_deadlier_than_obesity.html

Loneliness has doubled: 40 percent of adults in two recent surveys said they were lonely, up from 20 percent in the 1980s.

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Loneliness is not just making us sick, it is killing us. Loneliness is a serious health risk. Studies of elderly people and social isolation concluded that those without adequate social interaction were twice as likely to die prematurely.

The increased mortality risk is comparable to that from smoking. And loneliness is about twice as dangerous as obesity.

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When we are lonely, we lose impulse control and engage in what scientists call “social evasion.” We become less concerned with interactions and more concerned with self-preservation, as I was when I couldn’t even imagine trying to talk to another human. Evolutionary psychologists speculate that loneliness triggers our basic, fight vs. flight survival mechanisms, and we stick to the periphery, away from people we do not know if we can trust.