Facing the Future Together

How one couple have forged the path to support and positivity for people living with Young Onset Dementia

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Lorraine Geary had no idea that her husband Dirck was keeping a secret from her. He was L forgetting whole conversations but told no one. The following year, in 2021, Dirck was diagnosed with Young Onset Dementia.

"Dirck hid the early symptoms for a long time, but I think eventually he just became exhausted and gave in and told me," says Lorraine (59) from Southrepps, Norfolk.

"When he finally opened up about his memory concerns, my immediate thought was, whatever this is, we'll face it together!" The couple found that they could not explain some of Dirck's strange behaviours such as maxing out their bank card which was very unusual for him. He fitted a door that was six inches too short for the opening, but his engineering mind could not see the problem. They knew something was amiss and desperately wanted someone to provide answers.

Dirck's GP eventually referred him to a memory clinic where he was assigned a consultant psychiatrist.

"I played senior rugby for over 10 years and suffered concussions during that time,' explains Dirck (61). "Then in 2016, I was knocked unconscious during a robbery at the Post Office I still run in the village.

"Lorraine was by my side when the psychiatrist came to the house to say that my MRI scan didn't reveal the brain tumour which had terrified me because of the permanent headache that started years ago, but the scan did show scarring," he says gravely. "Then came the bombshell - you have Young Onset Dementia."