The Brains Trust: Episode 1. Made with funding from NZ On Air. Video / Mike Scott
She doesn't know her name or what day it is. Anne Pead has lost her mind.
Her daughter Deborah, an accomplished PR maven, says dementia has robbed her mother of her personality.
It began with Anne squirrelling away jars of honey, writing herself maps so she wouldn't get lost onthe way home and withdrawing large amounts of money from her bank account.
Anne Pead, who suffers from advanced dementia, is flanked by her granddaughter Brittany Eb, left, and daughter Deborah Pead. Photo / Mike Scott
"She's the powerhouse of my life, she's dynamic, effervescent – one of the best mums anyone could hope for and a best friend but mentally there is very little there. At the Mount Eden Care Village, she turned into a kleptomaniac and would go into other rooms to steal bottles of wine, mobile phones and remote controls," Deborah said.
Dementia is a terminal disease that can last up to eight to 10 years. There is no cure. As our population ages, the number of cases in New Zealand is expected to rise from 70,000 to 170,000, costing the economy $4.6 billion.
Dr Lynette Tippett, from Brain Research New Zealand, says dementia is an umbrella term that describes a change in thinking abilities including memory, language and visual spatial processing.
Deborah Pead looks through family photo albums looking at her mother Anne Pead when she did not suffer from dementia. Photo / Mike Scott
"There's a change in the person's ability to function in everyday life. So their ability to complete ordinary tasks is noticeably impaired."
She says other risk factors for Alzheimer's, a common form of dementia, include hearing loss in mid-life, untreated high blood pressure, social isolation, physical and cognitive inactivity.
Deborah has told her family she wants to be euthanised if she is diagnosed with dementia.
Sir Richard Faull is a neuroscientist at the Centre for Brain Research and is New Zealand's preminent expert on dementia. Photo / Mike Scott
"I think they have seen the pain I've gone through with my mum and they understand. I think there is a certain amount of acceptance there that if I get to that stage, I would definitely take steps to end my life even if it's not in New Zealand. A great champagne-fuelled lunch on Lake Geneva sounds pretty good."
