Man diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at 41 shares early subtle sign he initially ignored
Topics: Mental Health, Health, True Life
Mia Williams
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/youngeronsetdementia
Topics: Mental Health, Health, True Life
A man diagnosed with Alzheimer's at 41 shared that his 'brain has had enough' by the end of each day, after revealing symptoms to look out for.
The 41-year-old dad has revealed he started to experience subtle symptoms of the brain disorder in his late thirties.
Fraser, a teacher and researcher from Australia, has spoken out to help others spot symptoms early, after being diagnosed with Alzheimers three decades earlier than the average age.
He documents his life on YouTube, and recently shared the 'memory flaws' he experienced that actually should have been alarm bells.
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The dad firstly described an incident that happened when he was just 39, in which he rewatched an entire film without remembering what happened.
In a recent video, he explained: "My partner said 'we watched that like a month ago'.
"Anyway, I watched the whole movie, and the ending was still a complete surprise. I had no memory of watching it whatsoever, and I didn't watch many movies either at the time. "So it was, it was a bit concerning.
He didn't think too much of the forgetful moment at the time, but the symptoms went onto manifest themselves further.
He documented being unable to 'think deeply', and noted that his thoughts had become pretty 'surface level'.
The second major incident is what prompted Fraser to seek advice regarding his symptoms.
He described a night where he frantically drove around looking for his daughter, whom he thought was missing.
In reality, his daughter had told him several times that she was going to the cinema with a friend and would be back late.
He said, "It came to nighttime, and I started freaking out, thinking, where's my daughter? I was driving to the nearby town trying to see if other friends had heard from her.
"And it got to a point where I was about to ring the police, I was that concerned."
Fraser added: "And then she ends up calling me, saying, like, "hey dad, I've just been in the movies. Remember, I told you?'"
He received his life-changing diagnosis at the age of just 41, making him part of the five to ten per cent of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's under the age of 65.
Since his diagnosis, his symptoms have gradually gotten worse day-to-day, but is hopeful that he can still live a relatively normal life.
"I muddle up things when it comes to everyday scheduling," he explained.
"A fog just comes over your brain and you just can't really focus on things very well and you're in a haze."
Frazer noted that he is still able to go to work but admitted that his brain has 'had enough' when it comes to the end of the day.