Daughter: Reagan no longer able to communicate
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Ronald Reagan's daughter Patti Davis wants people to have a clear understanding of what Alzheimer's disease has done to the 92-year-old former president.
Davis wrote in an essay for the Dec. 15 edition of People magazine that she is often asked how her father is doing and whether he recognizes her.
"It makes me realize that my mother and I have been so protective of his condition since he became ill -- almost a decade now -- that it has allowed people to imagine he is still talking, still walking, still able to stumble into a moment of clarity. But it would be a disservice to every family who has an Alzheimer's victim in their embrace to say any of that is true, and I don't believe my father would want us to lie," she wrote.
Asked about the former president's condition Thursday, Reagan chief of staff Joanne Drake told The Associated Press: "He's the same. Nothing has changed. He's comfortable at home."
Former first lady Nancy Reagan indicated the extent of the disease's impact during a CBS "60 Minutes II" interview last year.
"The golden years are when you can sit back, hopefully, and exchange memories, and that's the worst part about this disease: there's nobody to exchange memories with ... and we had a lot of memories," she said.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/....ap/index.html
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Ronald Reagan's daughter Patti Davis wants people to have a clear understanding of what Alzheimer's disease has done to the 92-year-old former president.
Davis wrote in an essay for the Dec. 15 edition of People magazine that she is often asked how her father is doing and whether he recognizes her.
"It makes me realize that my mother and I have been so protective of his condition since he became ill -- almost a decade now -- that it has allowed people to imagine he is still talking, still walking, still able to stumble into a moment of clarity. But it would be a disservice to every family who has an Alzheimer's victim in their embrace to say any of that is true, and I don't believe my father would want us to lie," she wrote.
Asked about the former president's condition Thursday, Reagan chief of staff Joanne Drake told The Associated Press: "He's the same. Nothing has changed. He's comfortable at home."
Former first lady Nancy Reagan indicated the extent of the disease's impact during a CBS "60 Minutes II" interview last year.
"The golden years are when you can sit back, hopefully, and exchange memories, and that's the worst part about this disease: there's nobody to exchange memories with ... and we had a lot of memories," she said.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/....ap/index.html
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