I watched a very, very smart gentleman descend into dementia over about 10 years. It may start slowly but accelerates.

I know the signs now, especially upon reflection of the early stages, often overlooked. That blank look on his face as he tries to find the right word. The word salad. His gait. He's way past the inflection point now.

One thing I learned was that as it progresses, the patient's mind goes backwards in time, eventually going back to childhood levels of cognition. It is difficult to witness. Afternoons and evenings are the worst time of day for symptoms. The written word starts to become elusive. Typically, only towards the end, do they realize their mind is slipping. Anger is common. A desire to escape, run away.

His family and handlers see more than we do, trust me.

A follow up article on Salon:

https://www.salon.com/2024/03/01/like-someone-pulled-the-metaphorical-plug-dr-john-gartner-on-accelerating-dementia/