Pain and heartache of the long goodbye
WhILe it was encouraging to hear the new Prime minister boris Johnson at last pledge to solve the problem, I must thank the mail for your ongoing campaign regarding dementia and funding for care. my husband Joe, aged 69, a man whom I have known for 50 years, was diagnosed two years ago with Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. We believe (with hindsight) that he started showing symptoms for a couple of years before that. We had to fight to get him tested and eventually diagnosed. The pain and distress of this is hard for most people to understand. your articles by John and nula Suchet tell it like it is: devastating and heartbreaking, it’s the long goodbye, as your life partner is on a one-way journey that you can’t be on. It’s a double whammy — losing the man you love, while at the same time having the worry of financing his care in the future. I hope that reading your paper, people will take in what could happen, and is happening, and if they know someone in this position, don’t desert them! I wish John and nula all the very best — they have at least found each other and deserve lots of future happiness.
SuE WiLSon, Southport, Merseyside. WeLL Done, Daily mail, for bringing to attention the two issues surrounding TV licences for over-75s and dementia care. I make the following suggestion to people who are in a similar situation to me. my mother is 96 and has dementia. If I choose not to pay the TV licence fee for her in June 2020, she will be put in prison for six months. During this period, we will not have to pay her domiciliary care bill of £143 a week. nor will we have to pay for gas, electricity, food and drink. medical facilities will be on site at the prison, saving transport costs. I, as, her chief carer will be able to get respite from my duties. It also means that when she is released after her sixmonth sentence, we will have saved enough money to pay the licence fee for the next 40 years! oK, I am not entirely serious, but think about it — how has it come to this that criminals get better care than our truly suffering old people?
Ron TuRP, Bedfont, Middx.