Profiles

Here, you can find any of the interviews on this site.



Interview 11

She managed for a time to care for her mother in her own home which was nearby but eventually had to agree to her going into a nursing home.

  • Background

    Carer is a married teacher with her own family responsibilities (a daughter and a granddaughter), looking after her widowed mother. She is the youngest daughter of three children. Her mother...

  • Sex/Gender Female
  • Interview 09

    Her mother, a strong-minded widow, bitterly resisted surrendering her freedom and finally was sectioned before being transferred to residential care. She died recently in a nursing home, 20 years after the first signs of her dementia.

  • Background

    Carer is the oldest daughter of three, who over many years found the conflict between responsibilities towards her mother and her own young family very difficult. Carer is married and...

  • Age at interview 53
  • Sex/Gender Female
  • Interview 08

    He felt he had to fight to get the care she needed when she needed it. Indignant that medication was refused on grounds of cost but did persuade GP to give Aricept though he admits it didn't do her any good. Life is very lonely since she died.

  • Background

    Carer is an elderly husband who found that he had to continue to work to be able to pay for care for his wife at home, which he continued until...

  • Sex/Gender Male
  • Interview 07

    Gradual onset mistaken for depression. Diagnosis given to husband and wife together. Slow progression. Problem with restlessness and wandering. Very involved with the local Alzheimer's disease society. He tries to involve her in decisions where possible. Treated with Reminyl sedative, antidepressants, and sleeping tablets.

  • Background

    Carer is devoted husband who has so far managed to care for his wife at home with respite care every 8 weeks. They have two children. She was diagnosed in...

  • Sex/Gender Male
  • Interview 18

    At 80 her mother was still a vigorous, independent woman. Her mother's first care home insisted on her being sectioned so she was moved to a locked assessment ward. Appalled by this, her daughters found a secure long-term home for her where she has spent the last 18 months.

  • Background

    Carer is a doctor sharing the distance care of their mother with her sister (Interview 4). She is married with two children.

  • Sex/Gender Female
  • Interview 06

    She cared for her husband at home. He was on medication for two years. He attended a day centre but went into a home after she had a mild stroke. He deteriorated rapidly in spite of good care. She now visits him once a week but he doesn't recognise her or their daughter.

  • Background

    Wife caring for her husband, who was an academic psychologist. Diagnosed in 1995. They have one child.

  • Age at interview 87
  • Sex/Gender Female
  • Interview 04

    Caring for her mother, she found distance care difficult as her mother refused to accept help. There were difficulties communicating with social services, and she had to apply for a Court of Protection order to control her mother's finances on her behalf. She experienced problems finding a suitable nursing home, and twice her mother escaped.

  • Background

    One of two sisters caring for their mother, at a distance and later in a nursing home. She has taken early retirement. Her mother was diagnosed in 1992.

  • Age at interview 60
  • Sex/Gender Female
  • Interview 02

    Her mental and physical condition has deteriorated steadily since she herself first recognized she had a problem in 1991. She can now no longer talk or walk. Cared for at home and day-care centre.

  • Background

    Husband, retired, caring for his wife of 58 years at home. Well supported by four sons, social services and old friends. She was diagnosed in 1991 and used to be...

  • Age at interview 80
  • Sex/Gender Male
  • Interview 60

    John was able to care for his wife Iris in their own home until a very short time before she died. She went into residential care for a short respite and settled in well. Soon afterwards when her condition deteriorated she was found a room and moved there permanently.

  • Background

    Carer is John Bayley, husband of the late Iris Murdoch. He is a retired professor, and Iris was a writer.

  • Age at interview 78
  • Sex/Gender Male
  • Interview 44

    She was 86 when she started to have symptoms of dementia. Her doctor mistook it for old age. Prescribed Aricept but husband felt it had been left too late. Cared for at home helped by live-in couple. Attended day centre.

  • Background

    Carer is husband who himself suffers from throat cancer. Carer is retired. His wife had been a film producer.

  • Age at interview 86
  • Sex/Gender Male