A brave mum who was told she had Alzheimer's in her late 50s has opened up about the symptoms she experienced in the hopes of helping other sufferers of the disease.
Jude Thorp, now 59, was just 57 when she was given the devastating news of her diagnosis but insists ‘life can be rich’ despite the challenges that Alzheimer's brings.
Check out Jude's inspirational story below:
Oxford-based Jude said she first started picking up on changes in her cognitive abilities back in 2016.
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At the time, she was working at The National Theatre, a job she ‘loved’ and had 'extensive experience in'.
Jude noticed she’d started having trouble completing easy tasks, explaining: “I was not really playing my best game the last time I was at The National.
“It was a really simple show, I could do it standing on my head, and I was anxious and I didn’t know where I was. I was just very disorientated.”
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Aside from experiencing ‘bouts’ of memory loss, Jude would also ‘forget significant conversations about plans’.
What’s more, she became increasingly fatigued and started to struggle with her speech.
“It was frightening that I would do something and not remember that I had done it, particularly in a work situation,” added Jude.
Unfortunately, her first experience seeking medical help wasn’t a positive one, and Jude was dismissed as suffering from stress, a misdiagnosis she called ‘humiliating’.
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Jude shared: “Imagine, you know, just being told that you’re a bit daft.
“That was my first time going to the doctors for something serious in my life and it was horrendous, and afterwards they said there’s nothing wrong with me.”
Thankfully, Jude continued in her quest for answers and was eventually booked in for an MRI and a procedure known as a lumbar puncture that tests fluid taken from the lower area of the spine.
Only then was Jude formally given a diagnosis of young onset dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s disease. By then, it was January 2021, years after her first medical appointment.
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“It was devastating because I didn’t know what it meant and what was going to happen,” Jude said. “I think I put my life on hold for a while.”
The doting mum also confessed it was ‘very difficult’ breaking the news to her two daughters, Izzy, 19, and Iona, 17, but was ‘relieved’ after she’d done so.
Jude explained: “You have to mourn, you have to be cross or angry or upset. I mean, that’s part of grieving for something, isn’t it?
“But for me, I’m so lucky that I’ve got this diagnosis because I can still live well with it.”
Featured Image Credit: PA Real Life / felipe caparros cruz / AlamyTopics: Health