Dementia & Death: Where is the Light?

For our first Neuro Aspects notes assignment, I chose to watch a TedTalk titled "How my Dad's Dementia Changed my Idea of Death (and Life)". I chose this resource because my boyfriend's mom is currently playing the role as a caregiver to her mother who is in the final stages of Alzheimers. While death is sad and casts heavy gloom, this title struck out to me to want to learn more. 

The speaker, Beth Malone, talks about her father having Frontotemporal lobe dementia (FTD) and how it changed his personality. She talks about how her father had to be moved to a facility where he could get proper care twenty-four hours a day. Her father did not do well there, he was arrested for threatening healthcare workers with cutlery and assaulting other clients. The facility called Beth and told her that they are going to move him to a facility that specializes in caring for those with dementia. His health was rapidly declining, and Beth could see that her father was tired of being tortured by his own body. Beth calls her sister and says that she wants to kill her dad. She loves her dad so much that she wanted to do anything that can set her father free. She goes and talks to a psychic, priest, and support group and they all told her the sick tends to hold on for their loved ones. They told Beth to tell her father that she loves him and that he can go when she is ready. To her surprise, the next day she goes to visit him he has a lucid moment drinking ginger ale and in that moment she realizes that she needs to stop playing the role of the caregiver and play the role as his daughter. 

Something that I learned from this is that there can always be light in a dark situation. Beth had a moment with her dad where he was happy and that he was himself. I also learned that even though degenerative conditions are out of our control, we as OTs can still focus on helping our clients be themselves. Instead of rushing the race against dementia we should prioritize taking it day by day.  I also have never been exposed to someone with with Frontotemporal dementia, so it was good exposure for me as a future occupational therapist. By learning about the functions of the frontal and temporal lobe in our Neurobiology class, the actions and symptoms Beth's father has made sense to me. I think this is a good source for someone who wants to learn about FTD because it shows the symptoms and affects it has on clients and caregivers. I would recommend this resource for someone who is learning about Dementia and wants to know the different types. 

Source: 

Malone, B. (n.d.). How my dad's dementia changed my idea of Death (and life). Beth Malone: How my dad's dementia changed my idea of death (and life) | TED Talk. Retrieved July 13, 2022, from https://www.ted.com/talks/beth_malone_how_my_dad_s_dementia_changed_my_idea_of_death_and_life