> I wish you much strength. The kinds of decisions you are facing (have faced) are the hardest you can imagine and can only be understood if you have been in the situation yourself. I believe that nobody has the right to judge them. Last October, I lost my then 61 year old wife to Early-Onset Alzheimers disease. I saw her slowly fade-away and losing all her abilities, returning to a baby-like state. People often asked me, if she still recognized me. I often explained that that was a meaningless question. For me, it was far more important, whether I still recognized her. And I did. Luckily for her and us, her death came rather swift. She died within one and half week after developing a high fever (possibly due to dehydration) spending the last five days under palliative sedation.

I am so sorry for your loss. I need you to know that your words moved me deeply. Particularly

> People often asked me, if she still recognized me. I often explained that that was a meaningless question. For me, it was far more important, whether I still recognized her. And I did.

One of the hardest parts on me was seeing my father suffer a similar decline, but it was the moments of lucidity or idle chat or little things that showed me he was still there to some extent. Thank you so much for saying what I have long felt in my heart.