Dementia - Gene Hackman’s lonely death

Stephen Hammersley shares how the actor may have felt stuck in a ‘reel’ and considers what we can do to break into dementia and support caregivers

On 26^th February Hollywood actor Gene Hackman and his wife the pianist Betsy Arakawa were found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Officials say that Betsy succumbed to a rare respiratory virus before Hackman, who was living with Alzheimer’s disease, perished around seven days later.

Speaking to the BBC, Catherine V Piersol, PhD, an occupational therapist experienced in dementia care, explained how Hackman’s last few days may have been like ‘living in a reel’ (the short videos shared on social media). He may have seen his wife lying dead and experienced distress, only to forget and experience the painful discovery all over again.

As details of the story emerged, our Chief Executive Stephen Hammersley spoke to TWR, reflecting how social contact is vital when it comes to supporting those living with dementia and their caregivers. Regular contact with a wider circle not only safeguards the person living with dementia should something happen to their carer, it can also help to mitigate the symptoms of the disease itself.

Stephen said, “Social contact is the single most significant thing that slows the progression of the disease and makes the symptoms… less terrible, less awful… We spend an immense amount of time training the people who work in Pilgrims’ Friend Society’s care homes to understand dementia and then use all the senses that we have… [to] help people come out of that ‘reel’ and they don't get stuck in that sort of repeated pattern of living.”

In the Christian context of our care homes, this multi-sensory approach to breaking in to a person’s dementia includes sharing familiar passages of Scripture and patterns of prayer, as well as singing well-known hymns. As an organisation, we also pray over our homes and those living in them each day.

Stephen also spoke of the strains on relationships that can arise when someone is living with dementia, especially as a person may exhibit behaviour and language that stems not from their heart but from a damaged brain.

He said, “As Christians, we're called to love and we're called to carry one another's burdens, and [there’s] a lot of burden carrying to be done if you're living with or caring for somebody who is living with dementia.”

Support in the face of these circumstances is therefore vital. Stephen spoke of the Family Matters support groups we are starting in our homes where the relatives of those living with us are invited to meet together. We have also recently launched our Community Cafés as a way to invite those living with dementia and those caring for them at home to come and get support and find fellowship.

Speaking more generally, Stephen highlighted some simple ways Christians can show love and compassion to those in their churches and neighbourhoods, whether that’s making a meal to bring round or offering to sit with a person living with dementia for a couple of hours so their caregiver can have a break and go for a walk or a cup of coffee.

Stephen’s interview with TWR will be available for a limited time here: