Nancy Reagan has died

[TPFKA@W]

but she didn't turn the responsibility over to anyone else

Yes but she was not likely in the position of doing his actual care, changing his soiled pants and that sort of thing, which are soul sucking chores and physically draining, she likely employed a team. That being said it is much easier to keep a patient out of a facility so I give her scant credit even for that. Had there not been money perhaps there would have been less grace in the face of fire.

[Big RR]

No doubt she had a big team @W; but then even with most things taken care of, and even with a big home, having someone you care about deteriorate the way Alzheimer's does is never easy. I knew one elderly man (from my church) who finally had to have his wife put in a facility because it just became too hard to keep her at home. this was a very wealthy man who had round the clock caregivers, but having her in the home day after day wore him down. When she went in the facility he still visited every day for two years, but he was able to leave and go home to a place more peace (and maybe sanity).

I don't blame him for placing her in a facility, nor do I laud Nancy fro not doing so, but even under the best of circumstances it's tough.

[Lord Jim]

She saw her husband shot and withstood that with the same grace

That had an enormous effect on her...

And the American public didn't come to learn until much later (but she of course did) how close that bullet came to his heart and how close he came to being killed...

Mr. Reagan handled it with his usual aplomb, as he was being wheeled into the operating room quipping to the operating staff, "I hope you're Republicans"....to which the chief operating physician, Dr. Joseph Giordano, a Democrat, replied, " Mr. President, we're all Republicans today." ...

And then a few weeks later, he appeared before a Joint Session Of Congress, and again made light of what had happened, reading a letter from a kid who had said, "I hope you get well quick so you don't have to make a speech in your pajamas"...

Ronald Reagan was the kind of man who could even take a bullet and get up, shake it off, and move on...

That bullet had a much stronger effect on Nancy then it did on him...

And it made her very (perhaps a little bit batty with the astrology thing) concerned with her husband's safety....

[Lord Jim]

Yes but she was not likely in the position of doing his actual care, changing his soiled pants

I don't know if she did or didn't...she was probably aware of when it needed to be done...

But more to the point...

Imagine being with a person who you made a life with for decades, a person you adored with all your heart and soul, and had a magnificent life with, who now doesn't even remember your name...

I don't care what you say, it takes an enormous amount of love and character to deal with that day in and day out...

Whether you have to personally change the diapers or not...

[oldr_n_wsr]

The movie "The Notebook" comes to mind. No diapers but the missing memories. Hope I die before I lose my mind.

[Lord Jim]

Hope I die before I lose my mind.

Fortunately we have no history of this in my family, but if it should happen to me...

I'll suck on the business end of my Walther...

[oldr_n_wsr]

Hope I die before I lose my mind.

Fortunately we have no history of this in my family, but if it should happen to me...

I'll suck on the business end of my Walther...

My Grandmother (on dads side) started losing it at 92yo. She hung on til 96yo. I don't think I will make that age.

[dales]

Hope I die before I lose my mind.

Fortunately we have no history of this in my family, but if it should happen to me...

I'll suck on the business end of my Walther...

That's if you can remember which end is which.

In all seriousness, please don't do that.......think of your wife and kids.

[RayThom]

... Fortunately we have no history of this in my family, but if it should happen to me...
I'll suck on the business end of my Walther...

That's quite commendable. However, be kind to your loved ones and make sure you pull the trigger outside -- maybe in your garden and with a plastic bag over your head. Gray matter is really tough to scrape off plaster walls.

Good luck when the time comes.

[Lord Jim]

In all seriousness, please don't do that.......think of your wife and kids.

it's not like it's going to happen tomorrow...

or likely ever...

As I said, (and some may find this difficult to believe ) as near as I can determine we have no history of senility on either side of my family...

[BoSoxGal]

Stay away from anticholinergic drugs as you age.

[Econoline]

Even Wonkette had something good to say about Nancy Reagan




Chromed trailer hitches all over America are grieving.....

[Econoline]

Yes, that was awful.

No, I'm not sorry.

Actually, that's a pretty awesome thing to be remembered for....

[TPFKA@W]

I forgot all about her reputation for fellatio.

As to giving her credit for doing what millions of others do all the time, the taking care of the ailing spouse bit, not the blowjobs, I will pass. She is nothing special on that account.

[Lord Jim]

Even Wonkette had something good to say about Nancy Reagan

Gee, that was pretty disgusting even by the bottom feeder standards of that sophomoric, smarmy bitch...

I hope somebody writes something equally considerate about her when she croaks...

ETA:

Oh gee, I missed this bit of BS:

And I for one was not surprised a bit by Carter's comments. Whatever his failings as a politician, he's always been a class act, a true "southern gentleman",

In what alternate universe was that occurring? This is a guy who has vented his spleen non-stop about his loss to Reagan for more than 35 years, and obsesses over every slight, real or imagined...hell, he even did it in his press conference where he announced he brain cancer, taking a swipe at Kerry for not consulting His Wiseness on foreign policy...(a topic he understands about as well as Donald Trump)

The most defining quality of Jimmy Carter is his bitterness...(well, that and absolute delusional cluelessness; he actually thinks he was a splendid President... )

[Big RR]

She is nothing special on that account

to me, anyone who does that is special.

[Big RR]

Jim--while Carter can be (and has been) quite blunt when asked his opinion, I would think most ex-presidents are that way. and on the other hand he has always been quite adept at separating the persons from the politics, and has retained cordial relationships with many of those who opposed him.

As for being bitter, I would think anyone who loses the job the earnestly wanted will always be a little bitter, but I don't see him any worse than others. But I hardly see it defining him. In his work Habitat and the CPR, he has sought to build rather than tear down and to help people reach accords rather than fan the flames of discord. IMHO, that is hardly the work of a many who has bitterness as his most defining quality.

[TPFKA@W]

She is nothing special on that account

to me, anyone who does that is special.

She is absolutely nothing special among the millons of people who take care of their significant others every day without the supply of help and money Nancy Reagan had.

Is that clear enough now?

[Big RR]

Sure. but while money might make it easier, it doesn't eliminate the problems or the feelings. And people who deal with these problems are special IMHO; certainly some have harder times than others, but it is hard on everyone faced with these challenges. I hope I'm clear as well.

[TPFKA@W]

Sure. but while money might make it easier, it doesn't eliminate the problems or the feelings. And people who deal with these problems are special IMHO; certainly some have harder times than others, but it is hard on everyone faced with these challenges. I hope I'm clear as well.

I promise you that I have a very clear insight on this and a perspective that you do not have.

Money greases the wheels and while the feelings are similar irrespective of the money available I promise you the problems faced trying to do the care without the money is as different as day and night.