She is an active contributor to the medical fraternity in Delhi as a Lifetime Member of Indian Medical Association, Delhi Medical Association, Indian Medical Association (South Delhi Branch) Indian Menopause Society and Delhi Diabetic forum. She has carried the glory of Indian medicine to National and International conferences and presented papers on subjects of interest and research.

In the month of August last year, she was invited as a Plenary Speaker at 14th World Summit on Alzheimer’s Dementia Care Research and Awareness held in Boston. Her topic of the paper was ‘Legal and Financial Issues Of Dementia Patients’. To address issues related to Alzheimer’s and create awareness about the disease, she is running a memory screening camp at her residence. She is the proud mother of a daughter, an MBA, and a son, a dental surgeon working in the USA. She is now a grandmother fully supported by her husband in this endeavour.

My Journey With My Mother

My mother, my friend, philosopher and guide was a very cheerful and a committed woman. She was a caring mother and a loving grandmother.

Her life revolved around her four daughters and her husband. She was an extremely virtuous woman whose teachings will forever echo in my mission. The sad demise of my father led to the opening of this Pandora’s Box as explained.

Initially I thought she was lonely and depressed because of a large vacuum created after the loss of her life partner (my father). She suddenly became lonely in her own house which was always full of hustle and bustle. She loved having guests, so she would still work and supervise in the kitchen, wanted to prepare the best dish for her grand children and would always look forward to take her son-in-law to Gaylord (a famous restaurant in Connaught Place, New Delhi).

I would often feel as if something was dying in her brain which could not be figured out. Suddenly she feared dark and sometimes later she refused any family dinners. Little did we know that it was Sun Down Syndrome that was showing up. My energetic and active mother slowly went down the stairs of a dark well despite my siblings’ occasional visits from the USA, to see her.

She started forgetting the calculation, forgot to switch off the gas and would come out of the bathroom without taking bath. Sometimes my mother was irritable but most of the time she was still joyful and eagerly waiting for me to have lunch together. This raised a doubt in my mind, is she really losing her memory? Or is she just pretending to gain attention? Nonetheless, I never ever missed a day to visit her.

I physically stayed at my home but mentally I was always with her and was stressed even in my sleep. I was deeply saddened by the deteriorating mental health condition of the woman (My mother) who gave birth to me and raised me. I already had the responsibility of my family and my profession but I accepted the responsibility of my mother gracefully and with gratitude.

It was in July 1999 she developed Hypertensive Encephalopathy and suddenly fell unconscious. The doctors in the hospital then did their best and I brought her home after a week. It was then that a neurologist advised brain biopsy to confirm her diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

In the next six months, the deterioration was very fast and on 28th December 1999 she passed away very peacefully with a goodbye smile on her lips.