Catherine's story

I only went to the doctor to satisfy my children. They’d been telling me for a while that they’d noticed me becoming more forgetful - I’d frequently stop mid-sentence and say, ‘what’s that word again? what’s that called? I can’t remember’.  

Almost every day I’d be asking, ‘where’s my purse? where are my glasses?' and then I’d notice them right beside me. The doctor referred me for tests, undertaken by our wonderful local nurse, Valda.  When she was testing me, I found some easy, but others seemed tricky. That struck me as odd - I was asking myself, ‘I’m well educated, why don’t I know how to do this?’.  In the end, the results showed that some of my cognition was in decline, so an appointment was made to see a hospital consultant.   

I can remember the day I received my diagnosis. The consultant turned to me and said, “Catherine, you have Alzheimer’s”. I just burst into tears – but they weren’t for me. They were for my children. My lovely husband John, their dad, lived with a degenerative condition - motor neurone disease - so it does distress me that they now face this with their Mum.  
My children mean the world to me. If I need anything at all, I just pick up the phone and one of them will be here. I’ve got grandchildren now, too, and they are just as special. It’s because of them that I approach my diagnosis with such a positive attitude. It would be easy to say, ‘it’s all over’ but it is not!  I’m quite good at being funny, at finding something humorous to say and I want my grandchildren to remember that. I want them to think, ‘I only remember Granny laughing’ - I hope that will be my legacy.  

John’s legacy is the Dochas Centre, a charity we founded together in 1998 as a place of sanctuary for carers from all over mid Argyll. John was a fabulous artist and this talent, along with a desire to help others, inspired us to open the Centre as a place where carers could come for information, a chat, sometimes just a hug. John’s vision was to bring hope to others facing incurable conditions. Inside the centre, there is a gallery housing his artwork, and a meeting place for various support groups. 

I’ve always said information is power and there are two wonderful people in my life who empower me – Gayle, my Post Diagnostic Support Link Worker from Alzheimer Scotland and Valda, my Occupational Therapist. These two women are unbelievable.  When they visit, they always say, ‘you’re doing great’. And you know what - I feel great. I really appreciate this provision and commend Alzheimer Scotland for making sure nobody faces this situation alone.  

I look at life differently now. I live in the most beautiful place you can imagine, on the rural west coast. Every day I appreciate the wonder of my surroundings – two cormorants fly past every morning, I see buzzards and white-tailed eagles coming in from Mull, it’s fantastic. I also enjoy wild swimming… but music is my real therapy. I call it my personal therapist, calming me down if I ever feel agitated. It lifts me up and lets me express myself. It was this love for music that spurred me to start the Forget-Me-Not Choir in our local area alongside Louise Curtis and Valda Parnaby – and it’s been a real success. I feel privileged that it brings so much joy to the people who attend.  

It would be easy to take a negative outlook but not giving in, and not giving up is so important to me. My diagnosis wasn’t the end. This is just the beginning.