Couple share their story of living with young-onset dementia, a condition that affects almost one in 10 cases of dementia in Ireland
Wayne and Siobhán Baron: Wayne was diagnosed with early onset dementia six years ago at the age of 52. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
The Barons are at an age when their peers’ exposure to dementia is likely to be caring for parents who have developed it in the twilight of their lives. Siobhán doesn’t think other people can quite grasp how it is a “very different experience” for them as a couple in their 50s.New Zealand’s Keely O’Grady wins Rose of Tralee 2024: ‘I can’t really put it into words. I’m shaking so much’
He was “a bit of a bear”, recalls Siobhán wryly as the two of them humorously toss the conversational baton between them. Nobody observing the three of us talking over coffee would suspect Wayne has dementia; only the walking stick signals a health issue. She had a bit of banter with the secretary who, while warning her the waiting list was up to two years, said she would take Wayne’s name and details anyway. However, the secretary was soon back on the phone – he had an appointment the following Friday. Knowing that was surely not good news, but, having researched his symptoms, Siobhán was thinking epilepsy, as it was in the family, and she felt they could deal with that.
But Wayne says being on his own “doesn’t bother me”. He stays on the ground floor, has his “mad” Springer spaniel called Lottie for company and he loves to play music and sit in the garden, where friends erected a shelter for him to sit under. The two youngest children, Carla and Cal , still live at home, while Jenny has accommodation in The King’s Hospital where she works, and Shauna is living in Australia.
Dr Seán Kennelly, a consultant physician in geriatric and stroke medicine in Tallaght University Hospital “Not knowing what might be causing it, makes it significantly worse. I’ve seen first-hand how an accurate diagnosis can be transformative with regards how people manage that stress, how they manage to plan, and how they manage to live as well as possible with dementia, which is ultimately the goal of our service.”
Dementia Alzheimer-S-Disease Summer-Of-Family
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