Alzheimers Disease

I have a dear friend whom I have known for the best part of 20yrs. He started to show signs of Alzheimers several years ago and has gradually got worse. He used to like walking a lot, (he always did his walking alone), and some years ago did the coast to coast thing from the Newcastle area to the Lake District. Then a year or so later he was walking the South Downs when he disappeared for four days. He eventually turned up minus his rucksack and his money, wearing a pair of socks that were not his. He was badly scratched, as though he had been in a hedge, and couldn't remember what happened to him. About 18mths ago he went for a walk from home (Leigh-on -Sea, Essex) and didn't come home. His wife panicked and called the police. He was eventually seen some time before midnight by 2 guys putting traffic cones out on the M25, ready for some roadworks the next day. He was confused and disorientated and was taken to Brentwood police station where he was collected by relatives.

His condition was deteriorating all the time, and perhaps he should not have allowed out alone, though this would have proven difficult to enforce as he was fit in every other way, and his wife would have been unable to stop him physically.

Two weeks ago he went missing again for 9hours and was found late at night on Southend seafront by police who brought him home.

I saw him last Saturday when I called round to his house as I do quite regularly to see they are both ok. He gets agitated these days when there are people there holding conversations, as he is aware that he doesn't understand what's goping on or being said. He struggles to join in, often repeating everything the others say. He eventually gets his coat and says he's going for a walk. This he did last Saturday, and I watched as he walked backwards and forwards past the house three times before deciding which way to go.

On Monday morning I got a phone call from a mutual friend.

He told me that on Sunday he and his partner had taken our friend and his wife out for a walk. They drove to Leigh and started to walk towards Southend, (about 3-4 miles I guess). Having reached the Cliffs Pavilion, about three quarters of the distance, they stopped there for lunch and a beer. At some point my friend said he needed the toilet, and he was accompanied downstairs by the two women who also wanted to go. They let my friend into the mens toilet and quickly went into the ladies. His wife told me she was in there no longer than a minute but when she emerged her husband had fled the building. The three of them spread out to find him but to no avail, eventually, very worried they called the police.

The time was 2.30pm on Sunday.

As I write he still hasn't been found.

It's the fourth night he has been outside alone. He was not dressed for cold nights out, had no money on him and wil not know where he is. The local radio has broadcast appeals for help in finding him and the local papers have printed appeals also. The police have been distributing posters with his photograph.

Yesterday afternoon his baseball cap was found in the road on Canvey Island, a distance of approx 6 miles from where he disappeared. All day today the police, helped by locals and a rescue squad have been combing Canvey Island looking for him. His wife and son are obviously distraught as the longer this goes on the more likely a horribly fatal outcome will ensue.

My friend is just four years older than myself. This disease is no respecter of age, and to watch someone deteriorate up close is harrowing in the extreme.

I don't really know why I'm telling you all this but I hope desperately that he is found soon and his family get some relief from their mental suffering.