Tourist killed by herd of elephants at Sirheni Bushveld Camp in Kruger

[IvW]

How do you know it was HOURS???

Some reports indicate she left camp late afternoon(before the gate was closed) some say she left camp at 11pm. Perhaps her husband was sleeping at the time.

These facts may come.out later.

Irrespective of timelines etc. The point I was trying to make has been misinterpreted by you......

 

[Sideshow]

So I hesitate to write this. But a few things.
If the poor lady in question did have dementia maybe it was the early stages and this was her 1 wish to see Africa before the fog truly set in! I think we can all totally understand that. Also if you love someone and this is their wish you would carry it out.
Sad thing with this disease it can speed up through sudden change in a person’s surroundings and stresses that this incurs. As a carer it is also very stressful you can’t keep an eye on someone 100% of the time. Brushing ones teeth and going to the loo you would be surprised how far someone can get in that sort space of time. The patient also has another problem they have tunnel vision. They won’t turn around. They just keep going straight thinking they are on the right path but speeding up because they know something isn’t right but think it just around the next bend. Being what ever they set out to see, be it going home or to the corner shop.
It will be interesting to find out also what prophylactics she was on. Some have can have the side effect of causing confusion.
A sad case indeed.

 

[Franco]

So I hesitate to write this. But a few things.
If the poor lady in question did have dementia maybe it was the early stages and this was her 1 wish to see Africa before the fog truly set in! I think we can all totally understand that. Also if you love someone and this is their wish you would carry it out.
Sad thing with this disease it can speed up through sudden change in a person’s surroundings and stresses that this incurs. As a carer it is also very stressful you can’t keep an eye on someone 100% of the time. Brushing ones teeth and going to the loo you would be surprised how far someone can get in that sort space of time. The patient also has another problem they have tunnel vision. They won’t turn around. They just keep going straight thinking they are on the right path but speeding up because they know something isn’t right but think it just around the next bend. Being what ever they set out to see, be it going home or to the corner shop.
It will be interesting to find out also what prophylactics she was on. Some have can have the side effect of causing confusion.
A sad case indeed.

Having gone through this 3 times, I agree with what you say with one comment:

"Also if you love someone and this is their wish you would carry it out."

Therein lies the dilemma; as a caregiver your responsibility is to protect them from themself. Their safety comes before all else. If 100% monitoring isn't achievable, then that situation must be avoided.

One of the most difficult aspects of having a loved one with dementia is accepting it. You watch, helpless, as the person you know and love disappears - only to be replaced by an empty shell with a faint resemblance of their former self.

You long for their return and would do anything to get them back, their joy is your triumph.

But, the burden of risk assessment falls on you. If you are comfortable, knowing the potential and the fact you can't assure their safety 100%, and are willing to accept that - the choice is yours.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is thinking they will be ok, "Oh, they'll never do that"; on the contrary - they will get a toothbrush stuck where it's not supposed to be.

You cannot apply reason to a person who thinks irrationally.

 

[Sideshow]

Having gone through this 3 times, I agree with what you say with one comment:

"Also if you love someone and this is their wish you would carry it out."

Therein lies the dilemma; as a caregiver your responsibility is to protect them from themself. Their safety comes before all else. If 100% monitoring isn't achievable, then that situation must be avoided.

One of the most difficult aspects of having a loved one with dementia is accepting it. You watch, helpless, as the person you know and love disappears - only to be replaced by an empty shell with a faint resemblance of their former self.

You long for their return and would do anything to get them back, their joy is your triumph.

But, the burden of risk assessment falls on you. If you are comfortable, knowing the potential and the fact you can't assure their safety 100%, and are willing to accept that - the choice is yours.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is thinking they will be ok, "Oh, they'll never do that"; on the contrary - they will get a toothbrush stuck where it's not supposed to be.

You cannot apply reason to a person who thinks irrationally.

@Franco I’m sorry to hear that you have had to endure going through this three times.
I'm sad to say that my personal experience with dementia and Alzheimer almost mirrors yours. I would liken the early stages to driving in the fog...I minute the person that you love is present and coherent the next they have faded away.

Coming back to the topic and what I was describing I totally agree with you. I'm sure the carer would have started out with thinking that they have it 100% under control but as we all know life isn’t! It moves and shifts. How many parents have turned their back for that one second only to find disaster. My folks left me to play on the sitting room floor while they went out to say goodbye to the grandparents....lets just say that one pot of vics vapour rub spread around and no one had a cold for the next six months.

 

[Franco]

@Franco I’m sorry to hear that you have had to endure going through this three times.
I'm sad to say that my personal experience with dementia and Alzheimer almost mirrors yours. I would liken the early stages to driving in the fog...I minute the person that you love is present and coherent the next they have faded away.

Coming back to the topic and what I was describing I totally agree with you. I'm sure the carer would have started out with thinking that they have it 100% under control but as we all know life isn’t! It moves and shifts. How many parents have turned their back for that one second only to find disaster. My folks left me to play on the sitting room floor while they went out to say goodbye to the grandparents....lets just say that one pot of vics vapour rub spread around and no one had a cold for the next six months.

Thank you Sideshow, same thoughts for you.

 

[BushPig1963]

I don't think they said that Brickburn. From my reading of what SANParks and SAPS said it is that it was noticed she went missing at about 4pm and CCTV picked her up leaving the camp gates and rangers were called in to look for her and found her body at 11pm. How far she walked and whether she stuck to the road or wandered into the bush is not explained. But I don't think it was the case nobody noticed she was "gone for hours" but I stand to be corrected of course.

 

[BushPig1963]

It is also important to remember that there are three stages of dementia. There is early, middle and late. We do not know at what stage this woman was at. Not everyone diagnosed with dementia instantly becomes unable to care for themselves and needs to be watched 24/7. Perhaps it was the case that she was in the early stages and her husband realising it was going to get progressively worse took her to a favourite place they had enjoyed before her condition worsened. He and her doctor may have thought it was not unreasonable to take her on a weekend break at a stage where her conditioned had not deteriorated too far to do so. Without all the facts it is unfair, as some have done here, to judge the husband too harshly. Dementia is hot black and white and in the early stages it can be mild and it is perfectly safe not to have someone watched 24-hours-a-day. Guessing what may or may not have happened or assuming the stage of her dementia or whether or not she was safe or fit enough to take a trip which may well have aided her condition and been therapeutic and helped bring back memories etc to a safari camp is best left until the full facts are known.

 

[Paul Raley]

No one noticed her being gone for HOURS? Hmmm

Just to clarify, it sounds like they did realise fairly soon after she disappeared that she was missing but they searched for hours until 11 pm when they found her body.