Something We Don’t Think About

As we age two of the diseases that we have a risk of are Alzheimer's and dementia.

Dementia care advice for transgender patients drawn up
BBC
12 March 2018

New guidance for staff caring for transgender people with dementia has been drawn up to ensure patients get dignified and compassionate health care in north Wales.

It includes advice about dealing with people confused between their gender preference and their birth gender.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) believes it is the first in the UK to develop such guidelines.

It said the advice would help support the "unique, but vulnerable, group".
[…]
She [Jenny Burgess] said the advice was key as transgender people with dementia "may wake up one day and they'll be confused why they're dressed in a certain way".

She said: "Take for instance a transgender woman - they may well get quite concerned and disturbed at being in female clothes.

"They may worry why certain parts are missing from their anatomy. So it's these sort of things that I'd like staff to be aware of. There's no simple answer… but it really is a worrying scenario."

Far fetched?

No, it happened to a friend, she was in a coma and not expected to survive but when she did come out of the coma she couldn’t remember transitioning and have surgery. She paniced!

Her memory did return, but what would have happened if her memory didn’t return… it would have been living a nightmare.

Or suppose a trans person has dementia, is our gender dysphoria strong enough to survive? Will we remember that we are trans?

It is really a legitimate concern.