Frenchman’s rescue in Chiang Mai highlights Thailand as a caring alternative to nursing homes

[webfact]

A 72 year old French national was found alive and well by a team of police officers, volunteers and local officials on Friday last after he was reported missing by his Thai wife.

 

by Carla Boonkong & Pranee O' Connor

 

A UK man who moved to Thailand when his wife was first diagnosed with oncoming Alzheimer’s, speaks positively about the kingdom which still offers a life ‘in paradise’ to many elderly foreigners with income who seek to retire in stark comparison to life in a nursing home where many residents spend 23 hours locked in a room on a daily basis.

 

An elderly French man was rescued by local volunteers and the Royal Thai Police last Friday after he had gone missing for over 24 hours. The foreign retiree, living in Thailand, it was revealed, suffers from Alzheimer’s which played a part in his misadventure. The story is not unusual. It highlights the growing number of western retirees living in Thailand with dementia and how the kingdom has become a hub for western nationals and their families seeking an alternative to the nursing home care sector in western countries where many residents receive a paucity of care in drab and overcrowded conditions.

 

72-year-old Jacques Moriceau is reunited with his Thai wife in the Doi Tao district of Chiang Mai on Friday after emerging from a local hospital where he was subjected to a checkup. The elderly expat, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, had set off on Thursday morning to visit the consulate in the centre of Chiang Mai. Police say he became disoriented on his way home in the Hang Dong district and was found the next day at a deserted hilltop temple in Doi Tao, over 100 km away.

 

Full story: https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/02/28/expat-with-alzheimers-rescued-in-chiang-mai/

 

-- © Copyright Thai Examiner 2022-03-01

 

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[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

the kingdom which still offers a life ‘in paradise’ to many elderly foreigners with income who seek to retire

With income.... sums it up nicely.

Compassion at a price.

[BritManToo]

Was he French or British?

Story confused me, maybe I'm suffering from Alzheimer's as well.

[brianthainess]

post twice.

 

[brianthainess]

A heart warming story

5 hours ago, webfact said:

in stark comparison to life in a nursing home where many residents spend 23 hours locked in a room on a daily basis.

This story is heart-warming, but it reads more like an add for Thailand.

and as for the above quote well;

[wwest5829]

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

With income.... sums it up nicely.

Compassion at a price.

Cost-benefit ratio played a large part in my consideration to chose Thailand for retirement. At 65,000 baht a month, that I can afford, and am appreciative of the ability to live a working middle class lifestyle. Could not afford the same in my own country.

[nahkit]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Was he French or British?

Story confused me, maybe I'm suffering from Alzheimer's as well.

You have to click the link and read a long way down the article until you come to the bit that references the UK man.

[arithai12]

Deleted

[newnative]

6 hours ago, hotchilli said:

With income.... sums it up nicely.

Compassion at a price.

     No different than America, except cheaper.  Before her death, my Mom was paying $70,000 a year for a room in a retirement project in Pennsylvania.  That included meals and a nursing staff on-site  but, still, very expensive.  Compassion at a higher price.

[DefaultName]

Why was he allowed to drive?

[anterian]

"was found the next day at a deserted hilltop temple in Doi Tao, over 100 km away." How did he manage that?

 

[natway09]

Obviously many posters do not understand the word "dementia"

[Stargeezr]

Thank gosh for the old temples around the country. 

[timendres]

If I had dementia, and was spinning in circles lost in a city, I would much rather it be Chiang Mai or Bangkok than New York or LA.

[NancyL]

On 3/1/2022 at 2:22 PM, DefaultName said:

Why was he allowed to drive?

It was probably easier for his wife to let him drive than to argue with him and try to take away his keys.  He may have insisted that he'd been to the French consulate hundreds of times.  I've known others, including my own father who became disoriented while driving and ended up 100 miles away from home.  That's when he finally realized he needed to give up the keys.

[DefaultName]

6 hours ago, NancyL said:

It was probably easier for his wife to let him drive than to argue with him and try to take away his keys.  He may have insisted that he'd been to the French consulate hundreds of times.  I've known others, including my own father who became disoriented while driving and ended up 100 miles away from home.  That's when he finally realized he needed to give up the keys.

Likely.  My Dad came home one day in his mid 70's, handed Mum his car keys, and said that he shouldn't drive now.  Something had happened, but we never found out what.  Whatever it was, he had the sense to see the problem and deal with it, he never drove again.  It's the ones who don't realise who are the problem.

[billd766]

On 3/1/2022 at 7:22 AM, hotchilli said:

With income.... sums it up nicely.

Compassion at a price.

It is far more expensive in the west where quite often elderly people are moved to a "care home" and then ignored or forgotten by their family.

[billd766]

On 3/1/2022 at 2:22 PM, DefaultName said:

Why was he allowed to drive?

Why should he NOT be allowed to drive?

 

I am still driving at 77 though I gave up motorbiking about 3 years ago.