Margaret Thatcher's mental decline revealed by her daughter

[bijou]

Lady Thatcher, one of the most commanding figures of the 20th Century, struggles to finish sentences, does not know where she lives and even forgets that her husband Denis is dead.

In a memoir to be published next month, Carol Thatcher paints a picture of "the new Lady T," a much-diminished figure created by the progressive effects of dementia and a series of minor strokes.

Lady Thatcher, now 82, first started to show signs of mental deterioration almost a decade ago, her daughter recalls.

In her book, serialised in a Sunday newspaper, Miss Thatcher wrote how her mother confused Bosnia and the Falklands during a conversation about the war in the former Yugoslavia.

She wrote: "I almost fell off my chair. Watching her struggle with her words and her memory, I couldn't believe it. She was in her 75th year but I had always thought of her as ageless, timeless and 100% cast-iron damage-proof."

...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/2614020/Margaret-Thatchers-mental-decline-revealed-by-her-daughter.html

Sad news, but it's a shame Carol felt the need to write a book now.

[Chris]

I saw this yesterday... sad news. 

[Chris_]

She is joining that other great Cold Warrior, Ronald Reagan, in that long walk into night.

And she will stand forever as a giant amongst mortals.

[asdf2231]

We named our dog "Maggie" for a reason.

And I hope that didn't come out as a slam against Lady Thatcher, because it really wasn't.

[DixieBelle]

It's such a cruel twist of fate that brilliant minds like Lady Thatcher decline mentally due to age/disease.

And I imagine that if she possessed all of her mental faculties, she would not approve of the book. It is a shame that she felt the need to write about it.

[mamacags]

I am not sure of the writings in this book but I don't think she did it as a way to diss her mom.  My mom's mom has Alzheimer's and it is the most horrible thing to watch someone you love go through it.  I see writing about it as a way of healing yourself.  I would rather die than go that way it is just awful.

[rich_t]

I would rather die than go that way

Ditto.

[JohnnyReb]

I would rather die than go that way

Ditto.

I had an uncle that committed suicide. He had watched his older, sharp as a tack brother(my dad) decline as Alzheimers took over. He stated that he wasn't going to get "like that". When he realized he had started down that road he did something about it, he committed suicide. It was hard on my aunt who took it as a sign of her not taking good enough care of him. Several of us told her that there was nothing short of holding both of his hands 24/7 that would have stopped him from doing it. He was hard headed and stubborn like that, just like his older brother. He was a great fellow and many people loved him but when he made up his mind, there was no stopping him. My dad would have probably done the same had he know what was going to happen to him.

I not good with kind words and mushy-mush stuff but if any of you have a loved one with Alzheimers and want/need to chat, PM or e-mail me and we'll chat.