Mary-Anne, the wife of Essendon legend Geoff Burdett, has described the startling severity of his dementia battle, stating that “his brain is just frizzled” and that he can no longer communicate.
Burdett, 70, captain-coached three national football teams after playing 37 games for Essendon in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Now that he is under Mary-Anne’s full-time care, she is concerned about how she will pay for his care.
“He is just such a typical younger onset [dementia sufferer] because he is so able-bodied but his brain is just frizzled,” Mary-Anne told News Corp. Burdett has progressive primary aphasia, a form of dementia that can deprive sufferers of the ability to speak, write, express their thoughts, and understand words.He tries to tell me things as soon as he wakes up, but he is unable to do so.
The legendary Geoff Burdett of Essendon is shown with his wife Mary-Anne, who has revealed the terrible consequences of his fight with dementia.
When Mary-Anne sought for a settlement through the AFL Players’ Association’s benefit plan, Burdett (shown) was taken aback.
Mrs. Burdett (shown with Geoff) is concerned about how she will pay for his care at a time when she should be enjoying retirement. “I pull out of a lot of things.” I have to reconsider our course of action and destination.
When his wife tries to explain things to him, Geoff is similarly unable to comprehend.
Mrs. Burdett recalls Geoff getting lost on Mother’s Day weekend at the Westfield shopping center in the Doncaster area of Melbourne.
When she contacted, Geoff was unable to provide them with his location, and she and the former Bombers star’s daughter were unable to locate him waiting for them.
He refused to give his phone to someone who could speak to her, despite Mary-Anne’s best efforts.
She added that because he was unable to speak at a reunion hosted by the Southern Mallee Giants club, which he coached to a premiership, she felt obliged to do so.
In an attempt to get her husband compensated through the AFL Players’ Association’s insurance plan, Mary-Anne gathered medical papers from neurologists and speech pathologists who had treated Geoff after he sustained brain injuries while playing.
Nevertheless, the application was rejected.
You know what I’m concerned about going forward? “But when it comes to that stage, I won’t want to do it, but I have to do it,” Mrs. Burdett remarked. “These homes cost so much money to put him in care.”
