Ronald Reagan cannot recognise own family
An insight into the sad final days of Reagan, who has Alzheimer's disease, was given by his eldest son Michael and daughter Patti Davis.
His wife Nancy has barely left his side during the last decade while his condition has deteriorated.
Ms Davis wrote in People magazine: "People often ask me how my father is doing.
"They want to know if he still recognises me, if he still recognises any of us.
"It makes me realise that my mother and I have been so protective of his condition since he became ill almost a decade now that it has allowed people to imagine he is still talking, still walking, still able to stumble into a moment of clarity.
"But it would be a disservice to every family who has an Alzheimer's victim in their embrace to say any of that is true, and I don't believe my father would want us to lie."
Reagan, 92, is confined to a hospital bed or a wheelchair.
His wife, who is fiercely protective of his dignity, forbids friends from visiting.
Although she has the support of doctors, nurses and housekeepers, the former First Lady oversees her husband's care, despite the effect it has on her own health.
Her former aide Sheila Tate told the magazine: "She lives with it every day. She doesn't complain, but she's sad. You can hear it in her voice."
Reagan's illness has reunited his family in recent years.
Ms Davis wrote a scathing, thinly-veiled fictional account of the family before reconciling with them two years ago.
She said she believed the family's reunion was a source of strength to her father.
"I think it's the tenacity of his soul he just isn't ready to leave his reunited family," she wrote.
Michael Reagan said his father did not even know it was Christmas.
