Time to reimagine dementia

IF only *Charlie could hold his wife *Irene’s hand. Maybe she would talk again. Maybe she would look at him and smile as she used to. Maybe she would eat again instead of wasting away. (*Not their real names.)

Since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, Charlie’s wife, Irene – 73 years old and afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease – has declined dramatically. Left alone in the nursing home, she lost 15kg, could no longer utter the simplest words and stopped responding to the voices of her children. Within weeks, she had stopped recognising even the man she loved. Charlie knows the isolation is killing his wife, and there is nothing he can do but watch. “She is declining so rapidly,” he said.