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GERIATRIC
CARE
IN REAL TIME Part1
Fronto Temporal Dementia
By Rajam Ramamurthy, MD
This narrative was written originally in real time in the form of a talked for about an hour. At the gathering the previous day, N made
diary on pieces of paper, notebooks, on blank pages in books I was read- an inappropriate sexual comment to one of our female physician
ing as and when I had to unburden myself. I would write late in the friends. She was already very shaken after just escorting another
night when I couldn’t bear it anymore as the world was caving in on mutual friend who left the gathering very perturbed as N had made
me. Dementia creeps in stealthily, most of us including physicians don’t a similar comment to her. N, a well-respected, extremely high-func-
think of it for a long time, we don’t know much about it. It devastates tioning professional and one of the leading experts in the country
not one but many lives. in his field, must have had one too many to drink, she said. I did
not think so. Fear was choking me and I did not know what I was
I was busy cooking a couple of special dishes. We were going to afraid of. Our friends with whom we travelled in Cambodia and
have three couples, dear friends, at our home to savor pastries we Vietnam thought that throughout the trip N’s behavior was bizarre.
had brought back from our trip. We had just returned from a trip I agreed. He was careless, would walk away from the rest of us on
to India, Cambodia and Vietnam. We were at a big gathering the his own, he ate way too much to my embarrassment and he left our
previous day when I ran into these close friends. Then, around 10 hotel room open with the luggage and lost a $6,000 camera. I can-
a.m., the phone rang. Our close friend who had traveled with us celed the party. We decided to meet that evening; just N and I and
and was also invited to the party, asked if I could go to their house our friends who are like family to us.
which was just two minutes away, to discuss ‘N’ my husband (for
this writing I will use this name). We confronted N head on. He clearly remembered conversing with
these ladies but had no recollection of saying anything inappropriate.
A chill ran through me and I knew what was coming. We sat and
14 San Antonio Medicine • July 2016
