Insanely happy

Alan Crawford has learnt to be content, despite suffering from dementia for three years

- Alan Crawford

About three years ago, I was diagnosed with dementia.

I was beginning to forget a lot. So I went to my GP, who referred me to the hospital in North London where I live.

I did a lot of tests, and in February 2017 I was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia. I was just 74.

I remember afterward, sitting with my wife Mary and thinking how odd it all was. I didn’t feel ill. I didn’t feel as if I ‘had’ anything.

At that time, I knew very little about dementia. All I could think of was disability and lolling heads, as seen on television. How pleased and surprised I am to find how different things can be.

A few months later, my GP noticed my hands trembling, and referred me to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Bloomsbury. The consultant asked, ‘How is your sense of smell?’ I said I hadn’t smelt anything much since I was about 30. ‘Ah,’ he said, ‘that is interesting.’

My diagnosis was changed from Alzheimer’s to dementia with Lewy bodies. This occurs when tiny clumps of protein develop inside brain cells, causing them to a malfunction or die. So this particular dementia is a mixture: I get confused and forget a lot (Alzheimer’s) and I shake and feel unsteady on my feet (Parkinson’s).