Baycrest

4 BrainMATTERS SPRING|SUMMER 2021 Lisa Raitt is fighting a battle that makes any challenge she ever faced as a Member of Parliament and Senior Cabinet Minister pale by comparison. The former MP for Milton was also the first woman named as Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC). For more than a decade, she made headlines as a force within the CPC and made a run for party leadership in 2016-17. That's all in the past. Today, Raitt spends her energy thinking about the immediate future as she cares for her husband, Bruce, who's in the later stages of early-onset Alzheimer's disease (sometimes referred to as young onset). Any caregiver of a loved one with dementia can testify to the cruelty of the disease's progression. At first, it slowly strips away a person's memory and cognitive sharpness. Then, the process speeds up, hastening the loss of speech, non-recognition of loved ones, inability to care for oneself and ultimately, complete dependence on others. In Raitt's case, the situation is made even more difficult, since Bruce is part of the three per cent of Alzheimer's patients who are diagnosed before the age of 65. For these patients, all plans and dreams for the future disappear, replaced by the disease and its impact. Raitt granted Baycrest the following exclusive interview for publication in BrainMatters magazine shortly after Bruce was admitted to the hospital's behavioural neurology inpatient unit. Q: What are your concerns for Bruce? Lisa: I worry about him. We've been working so hard together with Baycrest and other caregivers for such a long time; and I'm worried he's not getting better. We need to control his responsive behaviours better so he can get some sleep and eat more. Q: What's your experience with Baycrest been like? Lisa: It's been fantastic! Bruce has been part of it since 2016. We went to Baycrest for our second opinion. We ended up going right to the top, talking to Dr. William Reichman. I was blown away that the President and CEO was so kind, gentle and understanding with Bruce, who was grappling with the knowledge that he had a disease that was unfathomable to him. That conversation really set the tone for what kind of standard of care I was going to expect in everyone going forward. Lisa Raitt: A CAREGIVER'S FOCUS "As someone who was successful in a political career, where you're always on top of the issues, this is a really humbling experience." Lisa Raitt and her husband, Bruce Wood

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