My daughter worked in NH/Rehabs for 20 yrs. She posted this on her Facebook.
"For those of you whom have elderly family members with dementia, please do not leave them in a vehicle to “run into a store real quick.” Dementia does not only cause memory loss, but anxiety. Luckily I had the experience of being able to recognize the signs, and walked with her until you were located. Not saying the situation would have ended badly, but it could have."
This could have gone bad if my daughter was at our large grocery store which is located on a main hwy. My Mom never liked to be left alone.
Your daughter posted a very good reminder to everyone that it truly isn’t safe to leave an elder alone in a car.
I hope people will take her message seriously. Something can happen in just a moment.
So very sad about your friend & family. Just awful.
I've told before of these local incidents.
Elderly woman, dementia, wandered out at night (while family slept), hit by car on main road. Son had never wanted to 'put Mother in a home', yet she died of her injuries after many weeks in hospital, then a NH.
Elderly Grandfather, dementia, wandered off with baby in pram when Grandmother took eyes off for a moment to pay a in shop.
Luckily found safely by Police. Grandfather moved into care immediately.
Burning to death is a particularly painful way to die. My friend died that way when an electrical wire in the wall ignited his home. His dogs and son died too. The son tried to rescue him. Both charred bodies were found in the ruins, unrecognizable.
My sister-in-law who has dementia nearly set her house on fire in a stove incident. She’s now in memory care.
I am for dying comfortably, not in a fire or with a car hitting me when I suddenly escaped from my home and got lost. So obviously I don’t agree with AndSoItGoes about keeping dementia patients home at all cost.
So this next note is not about the OP's generous and helpful post, please understand.
I'm sort of growing weary of people telling me how I can best keep mom safe. She is old and frail and by definition not safe. I'm especially tired of receiving these tips from family members who are not themselves dealing with daily caregiving. I also don't much care for the chidings of doctors/nurses (not OP's daughter! others I'm thinking of here) who in the past have suggested mom should be in skilled nursing since not sufficiently "safe" at home. Skilled nursing (in my area/observation) is a fate worse than death. "Safety" in this context represents the grave danger of having one's life prolonged in an institutional setting.