Living with dementia and memory problems

Andrew, aged 68, lives with his partner in a city by the seaside. He is a retired languages teacher and is fluent in French and German. He has lived in Spain for many years and still visits regularly. Since his diagnosis he has been working on his Spanish fluency.

David, aged 89, has a diagnosis of vascular dementia with Alzheimer’s disease. He lives with his wife in a friendly village. He spent time working abroad when he was younger.

Derek, aged 61, was diagnosed at the age of 56 with a rare form of dementia called Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA). He is a retired police officer and lives with his wife, Lorraine, and two cats. Derek and Lorraine have two sons and one grandchild.

Howard, aged 73, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He and his wife, Trish, live in a modern retirement village with good amenities and social events including opportunities to share music with others.

Jennifer, aged 74, is a retired GP and has lived in a retirement village for nine years. She is widowed and has three children who live in various countries around the world. Jennifer lives with dementia and has written a book about her experiences.

Joan, aged 72, is a retired nurse who has five grown up children. She lives with her husband, Carl. Joan moved to Britain from Jamaica when she was a teenager. She regularly attends her local church where she enjoys singing in the choir.

John, aged 83, is a retired Community Psychiatric Nurse. He likes to do jobs around the house and garden but finds he needs more prompting these days. John and his wife, Mary like to go for days out and enjoy a meal in a good restaurant.

Keith, aged 73, has a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease with vascular dementia. He is married and lives with his wife in a village. Keith is now retired but first worked as a panel beater and then went on to own a health and safety business.

Lawrence, aged 81, lives with his wife and they have two adult children. His daughter lives nearby and visits every day, she is his main carer. Lawrence is a retired postman and has always enjoyed music and sport.

Lorraine is a retired teacher for children with additional needs and lives with her husband. She regularly goes to church but sometimes finds it challenging being around a lot of people. Lorraine is active in her community and raises awareness of living well with dementia.

Maxine is a writer and editor who retired aged 73. She worked as a psychotherapist for almost 30 years. Maxine has many interests including ecology, gardening and art; she writes poetry and a blog about experiences of dementia. Maxine is white-British.

Pat gained a degree in English and American literature and went on to write plays and novels. She enjoys art, painting wildlife in particular, and has her work on display at home. Barrie had a pilot’s licence so together they would go flying.

Peter, aged 72, is a retired hospitality manager and lives with his wife. He has always enjoyed researching his family history but since struggling with his memory, he has found it harder to hold the information in mind when searching online.

Phil was first told he had mild cognitive impairment but after delays, a lumbar puncture, and scans, he was given diagnoses of Lewy Body dementia and Parkinson’s disease. He was informed by letters which were quite blunt and felt impersonal.

Ray is a retired headteacher. He is married to Barbara and they have two children. Ray has a diagnosis of mixed dementia, Alzheimer’s disease with Vascular dementia.

Richard is aged 68 and lives with his wife, Viv in a small village with limited transport connections. He ran his own kitchen design service for thirty years and is now retired. Richard is an accomplished guitarist and also achieved black belt in karate.

Robert, aged 82, trained as a carpenter in Jamaica before he came to live in England in 1960. Work was hard and he was paid very little. Robert is 82 and lives in a retirement bungalow. His daughter lives nearby and helps him with reminders and appointments.

Sir Terry Pratchett was a best-selling author, known for his humour, satire and fantasy novels. He wrote stories and articles for his school magazine. When he left school, he trained as a journalist with the local paper. This conversation was recorded in July 2010 when Terry (then aged 62) gave an interview with Oxford researchers to help people understand life with dementia.

Tony and his wife have always enjoyed travelling. When working as a lecturer in Hong Kong, Tony learned to speak Cantonese and Mandarin. Tony is still fluent in several languages but doesn’t travel anymore. Tony enjoys spending time in the garden at home.

Vera, aged 76, is a retired school chef and lives with her husband, Geoff. They have three sons who keep in contact regularly. Vera has a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. She has a positive attitude to life and enjoys talking to people.