Not the ideal kind of bedside manner when making a diagnosis of dementia:

My husband is in an early stage of dementia. You hear people say he or she died of dementia. That is not true, is it? And you hear doctors on television say, “As soon as you notice dementia, tell your doctor. The sooner the better.”

Well, I did. I told of my husband’s early stages that I mentioned. My husband’s doctor said there is nothing one can do. He prescribed Aricept and said this might help delay the disease, but there was no guarantee. That I know.

I took my husband to see a Veterans Administration physician. I was shocked. She told him, “You seem OK now, but maybe in six months from now when I see you again, you probably won’t know who I am. And you won’t recognize your wife at all.”