Navi Mumbai: Missing for seven hours, elderly couple reunited with family

Sudhir Nair after he was reunited with his elderly parents at the APMC police station

Thanks to good Samaritans and messages that went viral on social media, an elderly couple from Navi Mumbai suffering from memory loss was reunited with their family after they had gone missing for over seven hours. Ninety two-year-old Kuttikrishnan Nair and his 82-year-old wife Lakshmikutty had stepped out of their house at Sanpada Sector 3 for a morning walk on Wednesday at 3.08 a.m.

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Ninety two-year-old Kuttikrishnan Nair and his 82-year-old wife Lakshmikutty

"My mother was diagnosed with dementia three years ago and was under treatment, she forgets names, people and places, whereas my father has age-related memory issues. Usually, they would return home, after an hour-long walk, for which they would step out every morning at 5.30 a.m," said Manikandan Nair, 59, who resides in Dombivli. The elderly couple resides with their younger son Sudhir Nair, 53. Sudhir panicked when his parents didn't return home after a long time. Their sons made public appeals on social media and even went to lodge a missing complaint with the APMC police in Navi Mumbai.

Good Samaritan Speaks

Vikas Shingate, 51, a resident of Arihant Sparsh, sector 26 Vashi said, "I spotted the elderly couple sitting on the footpath close to our society's main gate. Our society security guard had been observing that suspicious strangers were making an attempt to befriend the couple, as the elderly man was having about Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 cash and the woman was wearing a gold bangle. We immediately shooed them away and for the safety of elderly couple, we got them inside our society and as they were hungry, we fed them."

"It was a heart wrenching site as the couple tried hard to recall their place of stay and even phone numbers, but they were unable to. We informed the APMC police and at the same time, a female member from the society, who had seen the photograph of the couple on social media, showed us the missing message put by their son, and had their mobile numbers," said Shingate.

Vikas contacted Preeti Nair, 51, chairperson of Divayan Samajik Sanstha from Vashi, as she could speak to the couple in Malayalam. Preeti said, "The elderly man was unable to recall where they resided. Initially he said Sanpada and after a while, he said Kharghar, whereas his wife kept repeating in Malayalam that she was from Kerala, and they were newly married. She was accompanying her husband to his house.

Preeti Nair

"Though we found an Aadhaar card in the possession of the elderly man, which mentioned the address of Sanpada, there was no other contact or phone numbers available. Also since he was carrying a lot of cash, Vikas had already connected to the police," said Preeti.

"It was around 11.30 p.m, when Preeti Nair called to inform that my parents are safe and are now at the APMC police station, we rushed and were happy to get them back by 2.30 p.m," said Manikandan.

"Thanks to social media and good Samaritans like Vikas and others who not only took care of them but also sensed the danger. They gave them refuge and food as well," said Preeti.

"We are happy that their son, who was worried about the safety of his parents, was pleased to get them back and after completing some formalities at the police station, they returned home safely," said Shingate.

"We are thankful to all the good Samaritans who took care of our parents, and ensured their safety. My father had enough cash and my mother had a gold bangle, which was enough for anti-social elements to loot them," said Manikandan.

Dr Harish Shetty

Dr Harish Shetty, a consulting psychiatrist said, "Alzheimer is a health burden for the family as appropriate facilities required are almost absent in the country. In a world of nuclear families living in match box homes with elders and little time to interact due to long working hours, things have become difficult. Wandering behaviour has increased recently among those having dementia. This behaviour increases as human contact decreases."

Look for early signs

Dr. Shirish M Hastak

Dr. Shirish M Hastak, Regional Director Neurology and Stroke Gleneagles Hospital, Parel, said, "Early symptoms /signs of memory loss should not be ignored, it might start with recent memory loss or the elderly family member asking same question repetitively like have I taken my breakfast / bath etc, these are indicators that should be picked up immediately and appropriate screening should be done to rule out the underlying reason behind it. In the case of this elderly couple, it seems they had ‘visuospatial disorientation' due to which they forgot their way back home. Dementia may be due to neuro degeneration, or other metabolic / nutritional causes."

Other reasons

"We have come across cases, wherein sooner detection helps in 10 to 15% of cases to reverse dementia. However apart from neurological reasons, other factors like thyroid disorder, deficiency of vitamin B12, liver or kidney dysfunction, excess alcohol consumption, including medicines etc can also cause memory losses irrespective of age. We must understand that every dementia is not Alzheimer disease and such elderly people need to have their place of address, contact details always on them, to avoid getting lost," said Dr Hastak.

Caregiver speaks

Javed Sheikh, CEO, Dignity Foundation and Alliance for Dementia Care, Mumbai, said, "We must understand that Dementia / Alzheimer is a problem with no solutions and it has no cure across the globe, but we can arrest the progress, with early diagnosis of the symptoms. However, the irony is that, unlike many Western countries, who have already started their Research on these ailments, India is still lagging behind, especially when our country is an ageing nation and we are not prepared to face the future challenge of this ageing population falling prey to Dementia / Alzheimer. As per a recent study, India at present has around 8.8 million elderly population (above 60 years) suffering from Dementia / Alzheimer and the study reveals that by 2036 the number of people living with Dementia in India will increase to 1.7 crores. It is high time that we start educating and spreading awareness about them to our masses, so that atleast through early detection, we could still delay, if not cure the problem."

Stages of Alzheimer's

Early Stage
· Forgets recently read materials
· Trouble organising / planning
· Forgets recent events, names, details about own identity and dates
· Wanders and become lost in familiar places

Middle Stage
· Needs assistance while getting dressed
· Bladder and bowel function issues
· Sleep disturbance
· Agitation, restlessness and anxiety

Late stage
· Significant personality and behaviour changes
· Difficulty moving, eating and swallowing
· Significant dependence on caregivers for activities of daily living
· Loss of control over bladder and bowel

Some family tips to delay and prevent
· Take all medicines on time and visit your physician or neurologist or psychiatrist regularly.
· Speaking a second language can increase your cognitive skills.
· Get moving: walking / exercising increase blood and oxygen flow to the brain
· Flex your brain: solve puzzles, note your finances, do household chores etc.
· Do not depend too much on your kids for emotional nourishment alone but be in touch with your old friends
· Reading, writing listening to music can keep the brain cells very active in those who have dementia

Phone them to know more -

· Toll free no 1446 (all India)- Tele Manas - A 24/7 helpline no 14416 for mental health including dementia available in many languages

· Dementia India Alliance's National Dementia Support Line - (Monday to Saturday 8 am to 6 pm) - 8585990990

· Helpage India - All India Toll free no - 1800 180 1253

· Alzheimers and Related Disorder Society of India (ARDSI), Helpline 24/7 - 9846198471

· Samaritans, Mumbai (4.00pm to 10 pm)- 8422984528

· iCALL Psychological Helpline (10.00 am to 8.00pm) - 9152987821

· Connecting Trust, Every Life Counts (10.00 am to 8.00pm) 9922004305

· Voice that Cares (9am to 9pm) - 8448844845

· NIMHANS psychological Support Helpline - (24/7) -080 46110007

· Pallium India's National Helpline for Palliative Care - 9645884889 or 8606884889

· Dignity Foundation and Alliance For Dementia Care 9152017120

Source- Nair hospital Psychiatry department in collaboration with Dignity Foundation, Mumbai