Supreme Court justice knows it’s best to let Alzheimer’s patients forget the past
November 14th, 2007
Doctors say families must allow patients to have new lives
Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has been happily married to her law school sweetheart, John O’Connor, since 1952.
John O’Connor has Alzheimer’s disease and lives in a Phoenix home care facility, where he has found a new girlfriend.
Speaking to a Phoenix TV station this week, O’Connor’s son, Scott, described his father as acting “like a teenager in love” and says his mother is happy for him.
Unusual as that sounds, doctors say the O’Connors’ situation is not uncommon.
… Alzheimer’s patients have no choice but to gradually let go of the past. For their families it is heartbreaking to watch. But doctors say the kindest thing families can do is to let go of the past.

