Inside Days Of Our Lives Martha Madison star’s heartbreaking story of her mother’s dementia – Nicki Swift

Martha Madison has been open about her personal life and struggles over the years, including dealing with her mother Barbara’s diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a type of dementia that affects people under the age of 60 ( via soap center). In 2019, Madison was asked to be the keynote speaker at the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration conference, and she told her story to the crowd, according to Soaps in Depth. The “Days of Our Lives” star revealed that the first major sign of her mother’s illness came in 2001 when she came to Houston to visit Barbara. Madison revealed that she became concerned when her mother did not come home from work at the usual time, and then received a call from a gas station attendant three miles from Barbara’s home, who told her that her mother was there and seemed to To be lost.

Barbara sought medical treatment for her cognitive problems, but her doctors initially believed that her occasional memory loss was due to her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis, which she had been living with for years. However, as time passed, Barbara’s condition worsened. Things got so bad that Barbara admitted to her daughter that she had been contemplating suicide. Barbara herself was transferred to a psychiatric hospital, where she was evaluated and ultimately diagnosed with FTD. The family then opted to move Barbara to a memory care facility, where she could receive the care she needed. Sadly, Barbara passed away just two years after Madison’s inspiring speech.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.