Frontotemporal Dementia and a Solid Gold Bracelet

Abstract

Editor's Note: This piece represents the first installment of a new section of Educational Gerontology called Professional Thoughts and Experiences. The effective practice for professionals engaged with the aging population is an optimal balance of best available clinical evidence, personal expertise, and common intuition. At Educational Gerontology we have made it our primary goal to provide our readers with the highest quality of evidence-based aging studies. However, care providers' clinical expertise, i.e, the proficiency and judgment acquired through clinical experience and practice, which varies among care providers and the individual needs of the patients (clients), does not always receive published recognition. As such, we will, from time to time, publish the narratives, poetry, and anecdotes of our professional care providers so that we can all respect—and even aspire to—their dedicated service to this population. This article presents the story of a wife whose husband has frontotemporal dementia. Her story of love and loss is illustrated from the perspective of her clinical psychologist. The narration reveals how one client–therapist interaction can provide a lesson in love and life to the clinician and countless others.