I can identify with John Suchet’s brave and moving discussion of coping with his wife’s disease. Sufferers have too little support

John Suchet has done an incredibly brave thing talking so openly about his wife’s dementia because, as he himself said, it isn’t his illness, it’s hers. And that could be seen as “a betrayal”. Why “betrayal”? After all, he spoke so movingly and so tenderly about her and his grief at losing her this way, and there was nothing disrespectful at all in what he said about her.

The answer is that when you are dealing with someone with dementia you never really know how much they know – or remember – about what has been said about them. And if his wife could, or does, remember something of what has been said, she might feel shame.

Full article: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/feb/17/dementia-health-service