It’s September which means its World Alzheimer’s Month – the annual international campaign to raise awareness and challenge the stigma that surrounds dementia.

My family’s medical history has largely been characterised by heart attacks and strokes so dementia wasn’t something I had ever particularly worried about. How wrong was I? It transpired that, at various points between late 2013 and early 2014, my mum had a series of mini strokes. There were no obvious physical signs so neither we, nor mum, realised what had happened. These mini strokes interrupted the blood supply to the brain, and this is what caused her to have vascular dementia.

“It was little things the family noticed at first, things we put down to old age forgetfulness. She was in her 80s after all. At that age, anyone could put a pot on the hob and forget about it or not know what day or year it was. It really only became obvious when she couldn’t remember her own address.”

It was little things the family noticed at first, things we put down to old age forgetfulness. She was in her 80s after all. At that age, anyone could put a pot on the hob and forget about it or not know what day or year it was. It really only became obvious when she couldn’t remember her own address – she’d only lived there for 50 years! She laughed that off and said we were ‘being daft’ but it got worse. She became confused. Simple things became a challenge, like turning on the living room fire, she was convinced someone had changed the dials. She thought we were hiding things in the house to confuse her. She got frustrated and this made her quite ‘sweary’ – which could occasionally be funny when it wasn’t mortifying. Although mum had never been shy about speaking her mind, she was inappropriate at times, losing the filter that stops a person saying whatever they fancy about someone loudly in the street (again, mortifying!). Mum had lived alone since my dad died in 1996, so my brother, two sisters and I checked on her every day, visiting and phoning, and we were supported by her GP.

“I’m so proud of the work that Focus on Dementia does, in partnership, to improve the experience and quality of care and support for people living with dementia, carers and staff.”

We were lucky, in a way, that mum only lived like this for maybe 6 months. On 21 April 2014 we were left devastated when she had a major heart attack and stroke. She was in hospital until 17 June, then we were allowed to take her home to care for her, supported by the amazing community nurse team, until she died on 29 June. 

I’m so proud of the work that Focus on Dementia does, in partnership, to improve the experience and quality of care and support for people living with dementia, carers and staff. Dementia can touch anyone’s life but with the right support it’s possible to live well and continue to be an active, valued member of society. The more information we have the better, the more we talk about dementia the better. So get involved, become a dementia friend, read more on the Alzheimer Scotland website, or come and talk to the Focus on Dementia team or visit the Focus on Dementia webpage. 

Marina Logan is a Project Officer within the Focus on Dementia team of Healthcare Improvement Scotland