Louis Theroux extreme love. Part two, Dementia.

Date:
2012
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About this work

Description

Louis Theroux meets people with dementia in the United States. He begins by talking to people and their carers at Beatitudes Nursing Home in Phoenix Arizona. Many of the residents are delusional and the staff play along with these delusions to avoid distressing them, telling them 'little white lies all day.' For instance, retired dentist, Gary, believes the care home is a dental building and the staff there allow him to examine their teeth. We also meet Nancy, an 89-year-old with severe dementia who lives at home with her husband John who she has been married to for sixty years. The couple don't have any children and so John is responsible for all of Nancy's care which can be very difficult for him. Returning to Beatitudes, Louis takes Gary and his wife, Carla, out to lunch with another woman from the home and we see how difficult it is for Carla to leave him behind. Solinda is only forty-nine years old and already has Alzheimer's. She and her husband Glen discuss how this has affected their lives as they have a nine-year-old daughter, Cally. On the fourth floor of Beatitudes the residents with the most severe stages of dementia live, many of them can hardly speak any more - Louis speaks to a son visiting his mother there. Glen and Solinda visit Banner Alzheimer's Institute for a check up and Solinda is told that she will probably only recognise her daughter for another two years. Louis concludes that dementia is far more painful for the loved ones and carers of the sufferers.

Publication/Creation

UK : BBC 2, 2012.

Physical description

1 DVD (60 min.) : sound, color, PAL

Contributors

Copyright note

BBC MMXII

Notes

Broadcast on 26 April, 2012

Creator/production credits

Written and presented by Louis Theroux.

Type/Technique

Languages

Where to find it

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