Alzheimer's Club

Geoff Older sits with his wife Sheila at St Thomas' Nursing Home
IN MARCH 2007, Geoff Older and his wife Sheila will have been married for 49 years. Their anniversary should be a happy occasion, when they can look back over the time they have spent together.

But the reality will be quite different. Sadly, Mrs Older is the victim of a terrible disease that has not only robbed her of her memories, but her husband of his wife.

After years of warning signs, Mrs Older, 72, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2000, and Mr Older became her carer.

For two-and-a-half years, Mrs Older was prescribed Aricept - a drug which helps to slow down the development of the worst symptoms of the disease.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), the Government's watchdog, has now decided Aricept should no longer be prescribed to sufferers with early Alzheimer's.

Following the announcement, Mr Older, 71, of Holy Barn Close, Kempshott, Basingstoke, decided to speak to The Gazette about the difference the drug made to his family, and his anger and disappointment at the NICE decision.

He said: "I have very strong feelings about NICE. The people who sit on the committee are not the people who have to deal with dementia patients and their carers.

"They acknowledge that the drugs work, but the view they seem to have taken is what's the point in prolonging these people's lives'?"

Mrs Older is now in the very late stages of Alzheimer's and is no longer able to speak, feed or wash herself and does not recognise anybody.

She no longer takes the drug and has moved to St Thomas' Nursing Home in Basingstoke. But Mr Older said that, thanks to Aricept, the family was given time to come to terms with this dreadful disease.

He said: "This drug works and I have experienced it first-hand because it enabled my wife to stay at home for another two-and-a-half years.

This drug works and I have experienced it first-hand because it enabled my wife to stay at home for another two-and-a-half years
Geoff Older

"In 2003, she was taking the drug and attending Thrive, a charity based at Mortimer, which uses gardening to help people with disabilities. She won first prize in a flower show."

He added: "They say it costs £2.50 a day to treat a sufferer, but what NICE doesn't realise is that it is really treating two people - the patient and their carer - by allowing them to live a more normal life.

"If they don't start treating people until the moderate to advanced stage of the disease, that time will be lost. You can't reverse the disease and you can never get that time back."

Speaking movingly about his wife, he said: "She was always such a proud lady. She looked after our home and raised our two children.

"She was a very talented dog judge, breeder and handler, and in 1992 had a top golden retriever bitch at Crufts.

"Looking back, she began to show signs of the disease in the late '90s - she would go shopping and forget she had taken the car and walk home."

He added: "Sheila is not the only one to suffer. It affects me badly on some occasions as well. Until you experience it first-hand, you can never know what it is like."

Mr Older, who is a committee member of the Basingstoke and District branch of the Alzheimer's Society, now hopes to further increase awareness of the disease.

He said: "What people don't realise is that dementia is the second biggest killer in the UK after heart disease. There are 550,000 sufferers and, as the population ages, it will grow worse.

"Anybody could get this terrible disease and it goes beyond memory loss. It does not take prisoners.

"I know we can't do anything for Sheila now, but we had that extra time with her. NICE has taken that away from other families."

Source: Emily-Ann Elliott. ‘Drug gave my wife precious extra time’ This Is Basingstoke, UK (23 Oct 2006) [FullText]