This is Malcolm.
Malcolm has dementia.
The 84-year-old was diagnosed with the disease five years ago. He can’t remember that detail when I ask him the question during our interview.
Mr Hazelwood needs to ask his wife and carer, Pam.
The couple live together in Broughty Ferry.
We spoke to both of them as part of The Courier’s investigation that aims to reveal more about about the experiences of those living in Tayside with dementia and Alzheimer’s.
We asked Malcolm to sit down on camera and help us understand what it feels like to suffer from such conditions.
Dundee dad’s dementia diagnosis
Malcolm is originally from Lutterworth in Leicestershire where he met Pam while working as a factory worker.
Soon after meeting, Jim and Pam married and went on to have three children.
The couple decided to move up to Broughty Ferry in 2015 to be closer to their daughter, Helen.
When Malcolm was diagnosed, he wasn’t angry or upset. He said it was something he just had to live with.
He sought treatment at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
The cost of dementia
In our video interview Malcolm described his experience as like having holes in his mind and that sometimes he falls into those holes and is lost.
Malcolm also says his confidence has taken a big hit since being diagnosed.
He said: “I know I’m talking to you reasonably confident, but in lots of ways, I’ve lost a lot of my confidence.
“Then, I get out there and suddenly it’s a different world.”
As part of our dementia series we discovered deaths linked to dementia have more than tripled across Scotland from 2000 to 2022 – including in Dundee and Fife.
And to help younger children understand dementia and Alzheimer’s, we created a comic strip which tells the story of a boy learning more about his grandmothers’ dementia.
Anyone affected by the issues raised in this article or in need of assistance can find help in the links below:
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