By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

GOVERNOR General Dame Cynthia “Mother” Pratt and Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Michael Darville spoke candidly yesterday about the emotional toll of caring for loved ones with dementia, as they joined staff and patients for the annual Governor General’s Visit to Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre.

The ceremony, held in Adrella’s Dream Garden, centred on the theme “Gifting Love, Compassion and Healing.”

Dame Cynthia shared the moment she first realised something was wrong with her late husband, recalling how the condition revealed itself suddenly one morning. She said he sat at the edge of their bed, calling out to deceased relatives while staring into a mirror.

“I am lying on the bed behind him, and all of a sudden he started saying, mother, mother,” she said. “Well, his mother is dead, but he was seeing his mother in the mirror.”

She described panicking as he continued calling for her late sister, Paula and did not respond to her voice.

“He could not hear me, but he was seeing people who were passed,” she said.

A doctor later confirmed the diagnosis.

“The doctor said, Mother, unfortunately, he is suffering from dementia, and it is a one-way street,” she recalled. “I never forgot that. It hit me like a ton of bricks.”

Dame Cynthia said dementia remains poorly understood by many families and praised Sandilands staff for their commitment to elderly patients facing complex cognitive decline.

“Dementia was a strange word,” she said. “Many Bahamians did not know what it meant.”

She commended the centre for showing “deep love” to dementia patients and said her attendance stemmed from her own care for those living with the condition.

Dr Darville spoke of the strain families endure, recalling his experience caring for his mother when her dementia progressed.

“I can remember my mother, a beautiful woman, someone full of life, who I respected for many years, and in our latter days, we began to see signs of dementia,” he said. “These signs gradually progress where I and many members of my family took care of my mother not knowing who she was in the last days of her life.”

He said the government plans to expand geriatric services on the Sandilands campus to support families struggling to manage late-stage dementia at home.

“In the latter stages of dementia, as the brain begins to shrink, the complications to take care of these individuals become greater and greater and more costly,” Dr Darville said.

Beyond dementia care, he also spoke about infrastructure upgrades underway at the facility.

Sandilands administrator Leotha Coleby welcomed guests and praised staff, saying their care ensures patients do not feel isolated during the holiday season. She said patients remain at the centre of the institution’s mission, and staff aim to replace isolation with inclusion.

Acting Managing Director of the Public Hospitals Authority Dr Keva Thompson said the Governor General’s visit helped reduce stigma surrounding mental illness and reinforced national compassion for people receiving treatment.

PHA Chairman Andrew Edwards recognised six staff members for outstanding service, calling them unsung heroes as they were awarded during the ceremony.

Dame Cynthia closed by telling staff she hoped the compassion they showed would return to them over the season.