The Caring Corner®
The Caring Corner – Margaret Thatcher’s Contributions
Margaret Thatcher will undoubtedly be remembered for many things. If you were of adult age in the US during the time of her office, it was hard not to hear about her in the news and the bold — if controversial — actions she took as Prime Minister of the UK.
With her death, I became aware of her final contribution. Margaret Thatcher suffered from dementia. Here was a human being of such force and mental capability who in her final years had a difficult time remembering that her husband had passed away.
In 2001 the former Prime Minister became patron of Alzheimer’s Research UK, Britain’s leading charity dedicated to dementia research.
Rebecca Wood, the charity’s chief executive, said: “The loss of Baroness Thatcher will resonate across the world, but in particular with the 820,000 people living with dementia in the UK. Irrespective of personal politics, few would dispute Lady Thatcher’s profound influence, the power of her presentation and strength of her convictions.
“That dementia could affect such a forceful personality is a lesson that this cruel condition does not discriminate. As patron to Alzheimer’s Research UK, her support of our research could not have been more important, helping draw attention to a condition so frequently swept under the carpet.
“Thanks to Lady Thatcher, we have made inroads with our research to defeat dementia. The answers will come too late for her, but they will come, and this will be another important part of our collective memory of her life and work.”
