700 Club remark irks USF Alzheimer’s doc

Posted Sep 16, 2011 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Sep 16, 2011 at 02:00 PM

USF’s Amanda Smith didn’t hold back when she got a call from ABC News about Pat Robertson’s recent comments on a 700 Club broadcast.

Responding to a question, he said it’s OK to divorce a spouse with Alzheimer’s disease.

That, Smith replied, was “absurd.”

“While Alzheimer’s certainly affects the dynamic of relationships, marriage vows are taken in sickness and in health,” she said.

Her email lit up after that, she told TBO.com – all of the messages supportive.

Smith is medical director of the USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute, which is getting ready to open a one-of-a-kind Alzheimer’s diagnosis and treatment center.

She’s worked with Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers for years, and in her experience, the whole idea of a spouse wanting to leave another with Alzheimer’s is bizarre.

“Most of these people have been married 40, 50, 60 years. They’ve been through all kinds of things. Lost businesses, lost children. They’ve seen war….They’re not going to abandon one another because of this.”

That said, Smith doesn’t fault a healthy spouse for seeking companionship outside a marriage to someone in the late stages of Alzheimer’s.

“I see that all the time,” she said. “That doesn’t mean they have to divorce.”

She’s not condemning Robertson. He may not have meant to sound so harsh, she said. But what he didn’t seem to grasp is that while people with Alzheimer’s lose their memories, they don’t lose their feelings.

“They have wants, they can enjoy the moment.” And even if they don’t recognize a spouse, they can feel the warmth and love of something safe and familiar.

Go here for more about the USF Alzheimer’s center.