Well said, Jo Glanville (Reading was the key to breaking through the fog of my parents’ dementia, 1 February). Our mother lived with vascular dementia for many years, but she wasn’t “dead” or “as good as dead”. Far too many people believe this, even people whose loved ones have had dementia, and it’s a dangerous belief that undermines the rights of people who are already extremely vulnerable.
Mum was alive and herself right to the end, even when she had become bedbound and crippled, even when somebody who could once have chatted for England barely spoke any more. But in those last few years, when she could no longer read for herself, Dad or I (or my brothers when they visited) read to her every day, and even when she didn’t say much, I could tell by the expression on her face whether she was enjoying it or not.
