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Living in a different world

That is life: Francis S. Manavalan has created his own world.

He is was excited when somebody called him FSM. That was what his classmates, colleagues and many of his friends called him. Former Income Tax official Francis Sebastian Manavalan had settled down near the High Court, so that he could practise law along with some of his classmates.

But, Mr. Manavalan was unaware when the Alzheimer’s disease caught up with him, making him both defiant and vulnerable at the same time. His wife, Theresa, and their children who tried to get clinical help were aghast when he refused to go to a doctor. Now, at 83, FSM spends his time at the Day Care Centre run by the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India. He likes going to the Day Care and he calls it “Department.”

He has been part of the Day Care Centre since it started about four years ago, said Mrs. Manavalan. He gets upset and a little restless when it is a holiday for the centre, she said. “He is fond of going out into the streets. We have to keep the gate locked because he cannot find his way back.”

“We realised the gravity of his disorder when he lost his way one day while going to the court and did not reach home till one good Samaritan rang up at 8 p.m. to find the address and made it known that he was safe and was being brought home,” Mrs. Manavalan said. Ever since, we put a piece of paper with address and telephone number in his pocket, but he used to hate it, she added.

When he lost his way the second time, we got a full-time security man to accompany him wherever he went. Mr. Manavalan hated it even more. He even tried to tire the man down by simply climbing the High Court stairs about ten times or more. He also got the police to catch him by saying that the man had been following him and was suspected to be a pick-pocket.

They soon had to abandon the idea of a personal bodyguard because Mr. Manavalan would devise various means to irritate him. Most of his habits have changed, Mrs. Manavalan said. He used to take bath twice daily, but now he cringes to have his morning bath. “My son, who stays with us, helps him with his bath, which is quite a job. He likes to go to the Church, but he would refuse to wear good clothes. He would insist on wearing his home clothes.”

“Father recognises only his wife. His sons and daughter are familiar people but he does not always recognise them as his children,” said his daughter-in-law,” Sheela. Over the years, he started speaking less because he forgot words and some times it becomes difficult to understand what he was saying, said Mrs Manavalan. He also does not have the sense of day and night, she added. The Day Care Centre in the city has 11 such patients with varying degrees of Alzheimer’s disease. Among them is a gynaecologist aged 86 years, who has forgotten what a stethoscope is. Caregivers have to adjust according to the need of the patient. Awareness about the disease is still low, though it is catching up among the public. Experts advise that identifying dementia – or memory loss, early would help in better care. For those who want to get in touch with the Helpline for Alzheimer’s disease, the number is 9846198471.

Shyama Rajagopal

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