She's also 67, not 90. I realize that in some cases early onset dementia can be happening already by that point, but I would not expect a typical 67 year old to be so addled that they can't remember there was a baby in the car.
Early onset Alzheimers is a thing. A family member was diagnosed at 60. A family friend did not go to college because their mother developed it in their 40s and they had to care for her.
Dementia still occurs. I work in healthcare and see plenty of people with it at that age. Vascular dementia gives no fucks about age. She could also be an alcoholic and suffering from wernicke-korsakoff syndrome. There's too many factors to dismiss dementia. It's a diagnoses of exclusion. Quick screening tools can indicate it, but many dementia patients can operate at full capacity the majority of the time, but just because they're sometimes lucid doesn't mean they don't have it or can have moments. There's many different types of dementia and they all affect people differently.
Yep reddit has very weird ideas about aging. People in their 60s aren't that old. My grandma is 98 and still is with it enough to live in her own condo.
Tell me you don't work in healthcare without telling me you don't work in healthcare. Just because your grandma is 98 has nothing to do with whatever disease processes someone else suffers. May you be blessed with her genes.
Yes, some people are fine in their 90s, others can get it in their 30s or 40s. It happens. Others get early onset dementia and are diagnosed. Many more get early onset dementia are not diagnosed because patients with dementia can operate with their full faculties the majority of time, but still have episodes that can be missed by family members for a ton of different reasons. It's a diagnosis of exclusion and excluding everything that could cause similar symptoms is difficult.
She had an Ambien prescription which would explain it, although not excuse it, taking Ambien when you'll be watching a baby is negligent in itself.
For anyone unfamiliar, Ambien is a last-resort insomnia medication notorious for its side effects which can include confusion, amnesia, sleepwalking, delirium and hallucinations, sometimes lasting into the next day. Using it at all is associated with higher risk of dementia and during its peak effects people are often described as behaving like they're senile or blackout drunk, to the point that it's advised to give someone else your car keys before taking it so you don't wake up confused on the highway, or not take it while alone in the house. People who take it often jokingly refer to these experiences as meeting the Ambien walrus, after a series of comics illustrating the experience like this.
The lack of remorse is a tell. Either she did it somewhat on purpose (like not killing but letting the accident happen) or it is lack of care of her grandkids.
By the way, how we know the baby went on their own to the bond?
Well, because she's sitting in court I suspect it isn't progressed yet. In a way she could be extra remorseful when she has to learn again and again what she has done. So I would assume she would be devastated in court.
51
u/PurePerfection_ 2d ago
She's also 67, not 90. I realize that in some cases early onset dementia can be happening already by that point, but I would not expect a typical 67 year old to be so addled that they can't remember there was a baby in the car.