The steely eyes that stare into a void are remnants of a life well lived. The high energy voice has given way to a stoic, monotone, monosyllabic response to any question. There are no more meaningful conversations. Just simple repetitive dialog, if you want to call it that.
The mind has long gone and what remains is a former shell of a life well lived. Dementia is real. So is the pain it leaves behind for those we love.
I have seen it all too often, and those that watch suffer more than those that battle the demons. When the mind goes, not much remains — and that is a travesty in every sense of the word.
About Hemant Rustogi