‘I watched my husband slowly decline before my eyes’

A MOUNTFIELD woman, whose husband has dementia, has this week spoken movingly about the devastating impact that the Covid-19 lockdown has had on the couple.

Marian Teague said she watched 82-year-old Jim “slowly decline before my eyes” after strict restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 were brought into force in March this year.

She feels that the isolation of the lockdown months has had a profound effect on her husband, who suffers from mixed dementia and also Type 2 diabetes.

Marian said, “Jim has done lots of talks about dementia and how it’s not a death sentence, but now he has lost the ability to communicate. That’s down to lockdown as we’ve had no-one to connect with. Jim has definitely deteriorated.”

And it’s not just Jim who has struggled. Speaking about her own experience during the lockdown, his wife admitted that she had reached “breaking point”.

Before lockdown began, Marian, who works part-time, had carers coming in for 30 minutes twice a week and on Wednesdays, Jim attended a day centre.

Once lockdown began, the pressure on her increased dramatically.

She said, “At the beginning of lockdown it was just me caring for Jim. I was sitting with him 24/7. I love him dearly, but he was asleep for 18 hours a day.

“I was working from home, so instead of carers popping in, they would only tend to stay ten minutes to make him a cup of tea. That meant I cared for him myself, but because we
had had given up our slot, we had to be reassessed, which was stressful.

“The situation has impacted both my mental and physical health. I’m not getting to sleep until 2am and I’m getting up at 7am.”

Prior to this March, Marian said her husband had enjoyed the stimulus of going to the day centre and also frequent visits from family and friends.

But this all ended with the lockdown.

“Jim has missed all that kind of impact on his brain. I fear that he has lost the will to communicate. I’m boring because he sees me every day. With no kind of conversation, he’s lost the habit.”

While the Mountfield man is now back in the day centre for half-a-day each week, it is not the same experience for him due to continuing Covid-19 restrictions.

Marian said, “There used to be plenty of activities at the day centre, such as playing cards, music or watching videos, but because of the restrictions they just sit there looking at each other.”

Praising the help the couple have received from the Alzheimer’s Society, the local woman added that the weekly phone call they have been receiving from the charity throughout the lockdown has been a “lifeline”.