My grandmother suffered from Alzheimer’s. She eventually passed away from complications related to Alzheimer’s.
We never placed her in a facility, we were lucky that we could always care for her at home. She actually lived with my family for years during the early-to-mid-stages of the disease, before leaving to live with my aunt as things got much dicier.
So, while I’m obviously not a doctor, I feel I can speak very informatively on the subject, having lived with someone who suffered from Dementia for so many years.
With that said, I see so much of my grandma in Joe Biden. There is the very obvious type-stuff, like stammering, and stumbling over words, losing train of thought, and mispronunciation. But it’s more than just that – I see it in his eyes. There’s this certain “forgotten/childlike” look that my grandma developed over the years, and I see that same exact “wonderous lost” look in Joe’s eyes.
My grandma would have her occasional good days and many lucid moments while she lived with us – you’d almost think “oh my, she’s healed!” And then later, she’d be back to the usual disorientation. I see that in Joe as well. He has his good moments here and there, but he always goes back to the confusion.
Which brings me to the latest “symptom” Joe appears to be showing…something I haven’t seen much of yet, and yet another thing that reminds me of my grandmother.
One thing my grandma started doing a lot was repeating herself.
My mom had a talk with me and told me when grandma started repeating her stories or comments I was just to pretend like it’s the first time I heard it.
In just a short conversation my grandmother would repeat herself several times and I’d just smile and nod and act amazed at whatever she was saying no matter how many times I heard it.
While I watched this Biden interview today, I saw that same repetitiveness.
Personally, I’ve never seen him repeat this way during an interview, so I found it striking.
You can watch the video below:
https://twitter.com/417JKO/status/1268841664501747714
He repeated the same phrase three times in under 45 seconds – and it wasn’t done in a “bullet point” fashion, where you’re trying to drill home a point. He sounded like he was saying it for the first time each time.
There was no “like I mentioned before…” or “As I said earlier…”
He just looks and sounds like a very confused, sick old man.
He reminds me so much of my grandmother and it’s very sad that his family isn’t taking better care of him.
This piece was written by Missy Crane on June 5, 2020. It originally appeared in WayneDupree.com and is used by permission.
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