Keith Oliver Part Five – ‘Dear Alzheimer’s’

Today’s extract from Dear Alzheimer’s, A diary of living with dementia is from the diary element of the book.

5 May 2010 – Receiving a diagnosis

I was speechless. My wife was speechless. The consultant sensed this, and went on to explain that this was a suggested diagnosis and lots more tests and scans would be required in order for this to be confirmed. He then drew two helpful pictures, showing as he described it, a healthy 54 year old brain; and then he drew mine based on the scan – he did try and explain the scan to us but it was too difficult to draw sense from it…

The sun was still shining as we emerged from the confines of the hospital. I suggested to Rosemary, “Let’s have a walk on the beach nearby – a favourite spot of ours, to clear our heads and take stock, “and I’ll ring school to get someone to cover my lunch duty.” That’s what we did, and I turned to Rosemary the moment we felt the sand under our feet, and I said “one door closes and one door will open”. I didn’t know which door it would be.

4 September 2010 – Life as a headteacher

I did go to the GP yesterday, and not surprisingly, he said “Really, you cannot continue like this. You cannot continue doing what you are doing at work with all that’s happening to your health, so I’m going to sign you off.” He took the decision away from me, and said “I’m going to sign you off for two months, which will be an initial period, and during that time, I think you’ve really got to sit down and think seriously about your future, Keith, and about maybe starting the ball rolling regarding early retirement.” This is the first time I’ve had that level of conversation, either with him or with anybody…

I am not scared of what this all means but I am confused and 1001 thoughts whizz around in my mind – retire/work, retire/work…. dementia… Alzheimer’s… end