Death is the final stroke, but dementia starts slowly and gets worse with time. I have some experience with the elderly, although I admit my data sample is relatively small, blips happen in the beginning that people tend to just write off as getting older. Then the blips get closer together. I didn't say he was a drooling invalid during that time. I do remember people saying that Nancy was aware of his growing impairments and that his handlers filled in during those times. Again, who can we believe? I go with my own experiences.