High profile death

Sandra Day O'Connor's husband, John, died November 11, 2009 from Alzheimer's Disease. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's over twenty years ago, and when the former justice of the Supreme Court of the United States retired in 2005, she cited the need to care for her husband as the reason for her leaving the Bench. Such a long decline for them both. We went to hear Sandra Day O'Connor speak a couple years ago. She was articulate and informative in speaking about the function of the Supreme Court in upholding the Constitution of the United States. We were sitting close enough to see that she also did not appear well physically. She was perspiring and her hands were trembling. Perhaps this was because of a transient illness, but I was also struck by the possibility that it may be because of the huge weight and stress that accompanies caregiving someone with dementia. It reminds me of how important self care is; just as important as the care of the one who is terminally ill.