WEBVTT
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Hello and welcome back to Age Compass, where we're navigating aging and dementia together.
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Now, today on the show, we have a very special guest.
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This is an inspiring woman that I saw make a talk at a dementia conference, and I was blown away by her vulnerability and her ability to share her experiences of what it is like living with dementia.
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So, Robin, thank you very much for being with us here today.
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Thank you for the invite.
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So, Robin, could you please share with our listeners why you decided to get an assessment for your cognition all those years ago?
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Sure.
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From my perspective, my family, I've lived with dementia my whole life in terms of history of dementia in our family.
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Her dad, who I have fond memories of, um, and going over to Nana and Pop's place, and he would have a penny container that he would put all his pennies and heapneys in.
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And my Nana didn't really have much money, and I was able to get a few and slide them across the table to Nana.
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And if we got five of them, we actually bought a chocolate.
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But he had dementia.
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That's you know, I mean, at the time it was just that, you know, the old boys, you know, he's off his rocker.
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So, but obviously, off his rocker meant that.
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His mum was institutionalized, um, and I think it was definitely in Sydney, so I'm thinking the big place that I can't think of the name of it at the moment.
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She was there for just on 15 years, and nobody in the family actually knew that that's where she was.
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So um, and she was still alive when my mum joined the war because mum said I had to put in down a name of someone who lived in Sydney, and her family was all in the country, and I said, I just put her name down.
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She lives, and she said, Who is she?
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Oh wow.
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Yeah, so she was actually, you know, and that's what they said, she was in the loony bin.
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Oh wow.
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So that was that's my understanding of dementia in terms of the history, but it just makes me realise how far we have come from even just the terminology and um the you know, I felt comfortable with my grandfather.
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I was never very good at school, and I think it just was good to actually talk with an adult, even if he did have dementia.
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It was just this comforting sort of thing.
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Um, so then of course, as time went on, um, my mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and then I actually was very close to my mum all the time, and very involved with her care, and um documented lots of things.
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So actually wrote down the sorts of things she would say and do, and I've got all of those papers of bits and pieces of things, and um just the the terminology, not so much the terminology that we used, but our understanding of dementia is now very different.
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At that time, it was, you know, there's nothing we can do at all.
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So um moving on from mum, I guess, I started to pick up some of the bits and pieces that I'd seen in mum.
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And uh she was very fit, active woman.
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So um, and and she her dementia wasn't, she was never aggressive, she was just her, and she would say, I don't have that A-thing, I've just got a few problems with my memory.
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So I would always use that terminology when we'd go to the doctor or neurologist.
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Mum knows she doesn't have the A-thing, she's got a few problems with her memory, and that's how we talk about it.
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So that I was trying to help people understand, stay on her level, use her words, which I used all the time, which was lovely.
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So I feel like I've had a lot of tuition, a lot of people in my life teaching me about dementia, but we're all doing it in our own way.
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You know, mum did it her way, my grandfather and family, they were supportive of him, but he did it in his way.
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Um, so I just think I started to do things that were um more like a knee-jerk reaction than actually giving thought to what was happening and um losing my words sometimes, or I guess the the most common one, and everybody does this, so it doesn't mean when you go to your shopping centre and you park your car and you can't find it, doesn't mean you've got dementia.
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But it was just one of those little clues, clues that I thought, hmm, not too sure about this, you know, where about and you know, I didn't take any notice at first, just you know, be more careful, blah blah blah.
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But then it came to a really big point um when I because before I would stop and think, what shop did I go in, what door did I go in?
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Oh yeah, that's right, yeah, that's right, that's where the car is.
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This time it was I actually don't know what shop I went into.
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I'll just sit here.
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And I sat there at the shopping centre watching people going past, and I thought, I have no idea.
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I have no idea.
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And I got more panicked thinking about I have no idea.
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Didn't help that I had two large trolleys full of things that I'd bought.
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I was on a um women's group that we were buying things for women in the refuges.
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I had, you know, six toasters, six of this, six of that jugs to help them set up.
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And here I am, couldn't find the car, so I I got quite distressed and actually didn't even have a cup of coffee.
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Uh I did go to the management and they were able to help me find the car.
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Um, but that isn't the reason that I necessarily thought I had dementia.
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I actually thought I was pretty tired, overstressed, doing a lot of juggling, you know, with grandkids, lots of stuff happening.
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That's what it was, you know.
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Yep.
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But I just wrote it down as one to be aware of.
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My my actual moment was I was a big walker and um, you know, COVID, we were all walking everywhere.
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Big walker, and um I walked down to our local beach walk I have done for years and years, came to the um a busier street.
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It was the chicane.
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I I walked halfway across the chicane um because I looked to my right, nothing was coming.
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Kept walking across, looking to my right, got on the other side of the road and realized I hadn't looked left.
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Oh so that the car, I was lucky there was no car there because I just kept looking to the right, to the right, and got to the other side.
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And even now it gives me the shakes, my legs started to shake.
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Um, I got very distressed, and I just sat down on the side, you know, curb and I cried and cried because I was distressed to think um two things that I was not aware of what I was doing.
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That was it.
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But also I just thought, what about if somebody had hit me, that poor person?
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You know, I mean that the trauma that they would go through, I would have hit the person if I'd have been the driver, you know.
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I gave I just kept walking, you know, there was no way if you were close to that chicane that you could have stopped.
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So I just thought, no, this is not just affecting me.
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I have to be aware of how it's affecting other people too, and be more aware of my the things that I I do that can affect.
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Um and um so after that episode, I um I really was quite, you know, it took me a little while to get over that, but I then started on my journey of trying to work out where where do I go from here, what do I do, and so I made lots and lots of different appointments and got to see, you know, I spoke to my GP who said nothing, nothing, those things happen, nothing's going wrong.
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And so I th I I did ask for to go to a neurologist, went to the neurologist and passed all the tests, and I had to get my husband come in to do some tests.
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I got a better score than he did because I was just more aware of some of you know, but um yeah, so it was basically look, everything really is fine.
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So I came away from that going, everything's fine, but I know it's not.
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Yeah, so you still had an instinct.
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Yeah, as far as I was concerned, it wasn't right.
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That wasn't normal behavior for anyone, and particularly I don't think normal behavior for me in terms of being aware of people and think, you know, I'm pretty maybe working early childhood, you have this like you're constantly looking.
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What was that noise?
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Who was that?
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Does somebody need help?
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You know, just totally aware that way.
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Anyway, from I'm sorry if I'm just talking too much.
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No, not at all.
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This is this is amazing, it's very insightful.
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So from that, I was just really fortunate.
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I think I was fortunate going through the local paper, saw this one page big ad for um research being done, which was actually, you know, at a different neurologist um for people who have you know mild symptoms.
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And I thought, oh, that could be me.
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I could be mild.
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I'll take mild.
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That's okay.
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So I went in and you know, did all the the testing, um, which included in that at the time there were only MRIs, there weren't any other, you know, there's a lot of different testing things now.
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But the MRI did show um the either the amyloid or tau, I'm not quite sure, but you know, it did show one of that, yes, this was early, what they called it, early diagnosed.
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So not even early stage dementia, but early diagnosed.
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So it could have gone on longer if much longer if you hadn't had the awareness and the inside past, isn't it?
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That's it.
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It was just that ad and that research that I actually thought, oh, you know, this this could give me what I want.
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Well, that sounds weird because I don't want dementia, but I do want to know do I have dementia.
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I understand that you wanted a directional sort of closure about what was going on for you.
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If it's not that, what is it?
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Yeah, why am I feeling like is it just aging?
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Is it what is it?
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That makes perfect sense.
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So, anyway, it was a drug trial.
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You went on to either a full of the drug, a half of the drug.
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It was an international drug trial, um, or none placebo.
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So you don't know what you're taking.
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I was on whatever it was I was taking for um three weeks when I got an urgent call to say it has been withdrawn from the whole of the world.
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Then there were seven countries involved in this.
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More people had died from um the med after going on medication than they had expected.
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Oh, I think.
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I didn't know that they had actually did expect people to die from it.
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But that more had died from it.
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Yeah, that's very interesting that you went to that extent to get a diagnosis or to get an answer for what you were experiencing.
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That's actually very interesting.
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It's all my comments.
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That's it.
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So so that was my my aim of going into it was, you know, I'll get more information.
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Yeah, you know, I'm going to and the G I'm not complaining about it.
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They'll be doing what they and the neurologist, what they see and do with everybody every day.
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But I think my history of dementia sort of meant I wanted more information, and I needed more.
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So then that was pulled, and I must say, I I hit pretty much bottom ground then because I actually felt like I was doing something.
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I've been proactive, taking a drug that might the whole world might be able to solve.
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And then when it was stopped, it was this feeling of, well, what do I do now?
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You know, this is even worse than before, you know, or lucky that I didn't go into it early.
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You know, you could be one of those other people that didn't make it through.
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But um anyway, so that was that was a big um step back, but I just followed then uh because I had that information that I had early diagnosed.
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Um, I then went back to the neurologist to get opinion on an early diagnosis, and he knew all about the study.
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Um, you know, it wasn't um, it was you know worldwide.
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Um and he said, Yep, okay, you know, good.
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So I said, so where do we go from here?
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And he said, Well, the good news is you don't have to come back for five years.
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Oh five years.
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He said, Yeah, go see the world, travel, you know, do whatever your heart wants to do, enjoy your family, you know, do what you want to.
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And I sort of walked out thinking, okay, I've got to have fun.
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Well, you got early stage.
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I've got early stage dementia, I know that now.
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And I can go and have fun.
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Hmm, what fun am I going to have?
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It was just this really weird sort of that is how do I have this fun now?
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And anyway, so look, he's a really lovely person.
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I, you know, I'm still seeing him.
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I really, really, you know, feel comfortable and confident with he's doing what he's got the information for.
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Yes.
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You know what I mean?
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It's not like he's just making up stuff.
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And he was almost right to the very second, um, in terms of that five years that I started after the five years.
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I did a lot in that five years.
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I did everything I wanted to do in my whole whole life.
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I went to a life coach, life medical coach, doc she's a doctor.
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Um and she was she was brilliant, she still is brilliant.
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And I, you know, explained the situation.
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She said, No, there's you know things that you can do.
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And the and the two things that she said to me um was, you know, what are things you like to do when you were a kid?
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Oh wow.
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Yeah, that's it.
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And I said, Oh, and straight away I just said, Oh, I play tennis and and run.
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You know, I was pretty good at sporty stuff.
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I was hopeless at school, failed everything, but I got every trophy for, you know, and I mean in those days you didn't get trophies anyway, but you know, I said, um, yeah, that's what I like to do.
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She said, Why don't you do it?
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And I went, Oh, I don't, I don't think I could do either of those things.
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Anyway, so I went off without information.
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I thought, oh, you know, I went to get some information, I'll have a think about it, thought about it.
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Friend of mine, Pat, she used to be a tennis coach.
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I wonder if she'd we used we just have coffee.
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I wonder if she'd play tennis.
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And we had the best time for quite a number of years, like up until about the last two years, every Friday.
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Booked the local tennis court,$5 each, played for half an hour, and we didn't, all we did was smash the tennis ball over.
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Like, and the person who won was the one who got the most pings.
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Oh, we didn't serve, we just forehand and backhand.
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It was just running from one side to the other up to the nets, smashing balls.
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The one who had to pay for the coffee was the one who sent most balls over the fence, and you had to go and find the balls.
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So you made your own fun with that?
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Look, we and then we'd go and have our coffee.
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So it was just that was great.
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The other one for running, I thought, I don't know about this, but I really did like running.
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So I sort of just started because I had been walking a lot around here, I started running a little bit and walking and running a little bit and walking, and I thought, oh yeah, that's not too bad.
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So um I actually went to Mingara, which is our local athletics club, and they have a masters um group for people.
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I thought it meant masters meant you're really good at something, but it actually means you're just really old.
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So I was in the masters, that's right.
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And there was a lot of people in the masters, and I'm looking at all these really super fit women and men, and I'm thinking, oh my goodness, I feel like a kindergarten person in here.
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But anyway, I started, you know, doing all I went to training before I, you know, I got a coach.
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Oh wow.
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And you know, sort of did some training with a coach before I kept going because I thought I actually want to catch up to where they are.
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So it was so, so good.
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Sorry.
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Went off to um started doing running, and then I realized there's nobody else in the 70 to 75 age group there.
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So I sort of get a medal every time you do anything because there's nobody else to run against.
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You are a champion.
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I know.
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So this was good because my grandkids were at a stage with all their medals that I was just starting to reap up these medals.
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So I started traveling around and going to the country championships and getting medals for first and it and then I started doing 200 because I thought I might as well sort of walk 200 because nobody else.
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Anyway, long story short, the best part was the national, like the Australian National Masters Games, we're at Olympic Park.
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So I thought, I'll go to Olympic Park.
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Quite a few other people did go to the actual masters.
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Um, but when we went down for our race, um there were five.
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And I thought, oh well, I can tell the kids I came fifth.
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You know, there's eight people who line up, but there are only five people.
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And I thought that's not too bad.
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I can tell them I came fifth in Australia, you know, because it's amazing.
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So this is good.
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So I went down and it did my you know they all had starting blocks and things, you know.
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And I thought, oh, I didn't think about starting blocks.
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We've still got the ones I had when I was ten in the garage.
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So they went down, um you know, and one person broke, like like went before the the whistle.
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So we had to start all over again.
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So they're stretching, so I'm stretching, doing what they're doing.
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You know, down we go to start, you know, that's right.
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And she broke again, and I thought, oh bugger, I've got third metal.
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That's excellent.
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I'm not having left here yet.
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So it was just the other two people were there a little bit longer, you know, like before me.
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They waited for me to get there, but I tell you what, it's as fast as I've ever run in terms of my body feeling it.
00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:37.200
I've been I've got a bronze medal that says I came through in Australia's meters, and I figure that was it.
00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:39.119
I mean, I never did it again after that.
00:18:39.279 --> 00:18:39.839
That was it.
00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:41.599
What's a good way to go out, isn't it?
00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:45.359
I can't do any better than that exactly.
00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:48.400
So, yeah, so that was really interesting advice.
00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:51.680
So the advice to become, you know, do what you like to do.
00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:54.319
Yeah, and look for it to do a national medal.
00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:55.039
Exactly.
00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:56.240
That is amazing advice.
00:18:56.559 --> 00:19:05.440
And I mean, I think because of that early diagnosis, you know, I wanted to do whatever my body would let me do at that particular stage or day.
00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:05.839
Yeah.
00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:11.279
And you know, it was still functioning really well, my body, um, in lots of ways, you know.
00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:16.559
Um, but yeah, but I still knew I had other things to be doing too, of course.
00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:20.880
But you know, but it just it was just a real high and it was great for me.
00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:21.759
Oh, definitely.
00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:23.440
Well, you definitely follow that advice.
00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:26.079
I mean, that's excellent advice for other people as well.
00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:29.839
So well, I must say, you know, um I did those sorts.
00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:37.359
The the other thing that she did say was, and they took a bit longer than running 100 metres, was to lose 10 kilos.
00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:40.079
Um, and I went, oh.
00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:44.480
She said, Well, you're asked, you know, you need to go on a better diet.
00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:48.480
So she looked at my diet and um those things.
00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:55.119
Um she said, now the last thing I do want to talk about, and I knew what she was going to say, but we all know alcohol.
00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:57.599
And I thought, no, she's gonna say that word.
00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:00.640
And she said, But what's your alcohol intake?
00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:02.799
This was on like at the very beginning.
00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:07.039
And I went, No, no, not it's you know, I I really don't drink too much, you know.
00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:15.039
The funny thing is, and I said to her, the funny thing is at five o'clock, my body goes, it's one o'clock time.
00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:17.279
And you know, maybe it's 10 to 5, maybe it's 10 past.
00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:18.480
Isn't that amazing?
00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:21.839
And she said, Why do you think that happens?
00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:23.920
And I went, I don't know.
00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:30.880
And she said, But don't you think your body is sort of like addicted to the fact that you need to have a glass of wine?
00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:33.440
And I went, No, I don't think that.
00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:36.480
She said, Well, you just think about it and check it out.
00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:38.400
And it she was right.
00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:39.359
Oh, there you go.
00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:44.160
I it was just the fact that anyway, so she said, So you really need to look your alcohol.
00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:45.920
I said, you know, I have two glasses.
00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:47.119
And she said, How big are the glass?
00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:49.519
And I went, Well, you know, it's really big, I suppose.
00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:57.279
So, anyway, so but what I did was I didn't stop drinking, I just went down.
00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:01.519
I thought, okay, what I'll do is I will only have one glass.
00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:05.119
It might be full to the ring, but it's one and it's less than what I would have been happy to.
00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:06.160
I'll have one.
00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:10.160
Then I would, you know, just have half a glass.
00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:11.119
That was hard.
00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:13.440
No, I'll go back up to two-thirds of a glass.
00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:20.640
It's amazing how your body just wants to do something, and often we have to fight that, I think.
00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:26.640
So that was a really hard thing for me because I figured, you know, my family had drunk all the time.
00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:30.160
They they were very heavy drinkers, wartime and everything.
00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:32.720
So alcohol was just part of my life too.
00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:38.799
But you know, I always thought I didn't drink much, but then getting down, and then I actually stopped drinking.
00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:40.640
I haven't drunk for five years, probably.
00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:48.160
I when I started doing the the running, I started to think, yeah, I've got to because she was the one who said the running, and I thought I can't be running and doing it.
00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:51.359
So, you know, find yourself a lifestyle coach, you know.
00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:52.079
Well, yeah.
00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:56.960
Well, I mean that they're very doable because she was she was looking at everything differently.
00:21:57.119 --> 00:22:00.720
She wasn't looking at dementia, she was looking at lifestyle.
00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:04.799
Yep, and the byproduct is uh is better cognition and better feeling, isn't it?
00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:09.680
And the feeling that you're actually doing something, all those sorts of things, you know.
00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:12.720
So I went and saw her just a couple of months ago this year.
00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:14.400
I haven't seen her for years.
00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:16.640
I said, You probably don't remember me, you know.
00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:19.359
She's trying to look up the records, and I said, blah, blah, blah.
00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:22.240
She went, and I said, I've and she said there and cried.
00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:25.519
I said, I want you to know that I've done this and this and this.
00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:29.599
And and it's because of just those two things that I thought, yeah.
00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:32.079
And the thing is, she planted the seeds for you.
00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:35.279
So you did that out of your own motivation and discipline.
00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:35.839
For sure.
00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:37.839
But she just said this would be good.
00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:40.480
I would never have thought about doing that.
00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:43.599
You know, I would have thought about that alcohol once I got into it.
00:22:43.680 --> 00:22:49.599
And I would have probably not so much even the weight, but you know, just makes everything so much easier, too.
00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:52.000
You know, if you lose a bit of weight, you can do more stuff.
00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:53.839
This is true, and you do feel better.
00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:54.319
Absolutely.
00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:56.000
So that's that's well, there you go.
00:22:56.240 --> 00:23:22.240
So, what we'll do, we'll take a break now, but just as a wrap-up for that, so Robin's shared with us that there's three very easy things that you can do based on the advice from a life coach, and that is do the childlike things, things that you enjoyed doing as a child, hence her running and dropping some weight if anyone needs to, and then reducing alcohol alcohol intake.
00:23:22.319 --> 00:23:23.920
So that's fantastic advice.
00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:26.000
So stay tuned.
00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:38.480
We'll come back with another episode, and Robin's going to share more about after her diagnosis, uh, changes that she's made in her lifestyle, and even talk to us about her experiences with driving.
00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:40.559
So stay tuned and we'll be back.
00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:41.680
Thank you, Robin.
00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.880
Thank you.
00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:05.679
Hello and welcome back to Age Compass, where we're navigating aging and dementia together.
00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:09.439
Now, today on the show, we have a very special guest.
00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:24.239
This is an inspiring woman that I saw make a talk at a dementia conference, and I was blown away by her vulnerability and her ability to share her experiences of what it is like living with dementia.
00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:27.199
So, Robin, thank you very much for being with us here today.
00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:28.960
Thank you for the invite.
00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:39.200
So, Robin, could you please share with our listeners why you decided to get an assessment for your cognition all those years ago?
00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:40.320
Sure.
00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:51.920
From my perspective, my family, I've lived with dementia my whole life in terms of history of dementia in our family.
00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:13.680
Her dad, who I have fond memories of, um, and going over to Nana and Pop's place, and he would have a penny container that he would put all his pennies and heapneys in.
00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:20.000
And my Nana didn't really have much money, and I was able to get a few and slide them across the table to Nana.
00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:23.599
And if we got five of them, we actually bought a chocolate.
00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:26.159
But he had dementia.
00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:31.040
That's you know, I mean, at the time it was just that, you know, the old boys, you know, he's off his rocker.
00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:34.560
So, but obviously, off his rocker meant that.
00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:46.319
His mum was institutionalized, um, and I think it was definitely in Sydney, so I'm thinking the big place that I can't think of the name of it at the moment.
00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:54.400
She was there for just on 15 years, and nobody in the family actually knew that that's where she was.
00:01:54.560 --> 00:02:05.439
So um, and she was still alive when my mum joined the war because mum said I had to put in down a name of someone who lived in Sydney, and her family was all in the country, and I said, I just put her name down.
00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:06.959
She lives, and she said, Who is she?
00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:08.159
Oh wow.
00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:13.439
Yeah, so she was actually, you know, and that's what they said, she was in the loony bin.
00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:14.159
Oh wow.
00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:30.719
So that was that's my understanding of dementia in terms of the history, but it just makes me realise how far we have come from even just the terminology and um the you know, I felt comfortable with my grandfather.
00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:36.719
I was never very good at school, and I think it just was good to actually talk with an adult, even if he did have dementia.
00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:39.759
It was just this comforting sort of thing.
00:02:39.919 --> 00:03:00.080
Um, so then of course, as time went on, um, my mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and then I actually was very close to my mum all the time, and very involved with her care, and um documented lots of things.
00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:19.840
So actually wrote down the sorts of things she would say and do, and I've got all of those papers of bits and pieces of things, and um just the the terminology, not so much the terminology that we used, but our understanding of dementia is now very different.
00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:25.520
At that time, it was, you know, there's nothing we can do at all.
00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:35.120
So um moving on from mum, I guess, I started to pick up some of the bits and pieces that I'd seen in mum.
00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:38.960
And uh she was very fit, active woman.
00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:49.759
So um, and and she her dementia wasn't, she was never aggressive, she was just her, and she would say, I don't have that A-thing, I've just got a few problems with my memory.
00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:54.400
So I would always use that terminology when we'd go to the doctor or neurologist.
00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:59.599
Mum knows she doesn't have the A-thing, she's got a few problems with her memory, and that's how we talk about it.
00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:08.240
So that I was trying to help people understand, stay on her level, use her words, which I used all the time, which was lovely.
00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:15.919
So I feel like I've had a lot of tuition, a lot of people in my life teaching me about dementia, but we're all doing it in our own way.
00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:22.079
You know, mum did it her way, my grandfather and family, they were supportive of him, but he did it in his way.
00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:47.680
Um, so I just think I started to do things that were um more like a knee-jerk reaction than actually giving thought to what was happening and um losing my words sometimes, or I guess the the most common one, and everybody does this, so it doesn't mean when you go to your shopping centre and you park your car and you can't find it, doesn't mean you've got dementia.
00:04:48.319 --> 00:05:00.879
But it was just one of those little clues, clues that I thought, hmm, not too sure about this, you know, where about and you know, I didn't take any notice at first, just you know, be more careful, blah blah blah.
00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:09.519
But then it came to a really big point um when I because before I would stop and think, what shop did I go in, what door did I go in?
00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:12.079
Oh yeah, that's right, yeah, that's right, that's where the car is.
00:05:12.319 --> 00:05:16.560
This time it was I actually don't know what shop I went into.
00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:17.600
I'll just sit here.
00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:23.040
And I sat there at the shopping centre watching people going past, and I thought, I have no idea.
00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:23.920
I have no idea.
00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:26.879
And I got more panicked thinking about I have no idea.
00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:30.240
Didn't help that I had two large trolleys full of things that I'd bought.
00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:34.480
I was on a um women's group that we were buying things for women in the refuges.
00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:39.680
I had, you know, six toasters, six of this, six of that jugs to help them set up.
00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:49.279
And here I am, couldn't find the car, so I I got quite distressed and actually didn't even have a cup of coffee.
00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:53.600
Uh I did go to the management and they were able to help me find the car.
00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:59.199
Um, but that isn't the reason that I necessarily thought I had dementia.
00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:04.639
I actually thought I was pretty tired, overstressed, doing a lot of juggling, you know, with grandkids, lots of stuff happening.
00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:05.920
That's what it was, you know.
00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:06.319
Yep.
00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:10.319
But I just wrote it down as one to be aware of.
00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:18.160
My my actual moment was I was a big walker and um, you know, COVID, we were all walking everywhere.
00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:28.720
Big walker, and um I walked down to our local beach walk I have done for years and years, came to the um a busier street.
00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:30.240
It was the chicane.
00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:36.160
I I walked halfway across the chicane um because I looked to my right, nothing was coming.
00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:42.319
Kept walking across, looking to my right, got on the other side of the road and realized I hadn't looked left.
00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:52.720
Oh so that the car, I was lucky there was no car there because I just kept looking to the right, to the right, and got to the other side.
00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:56.319
And even now it gives me the shakes, my legs started to shake.
00:06:56.399 --> 00:07:11.600
Um, I got very distressed, and I just sat down on the side, you know, curb and I cried and cried because I was distressed to think um two things that I was not aware of what I was doing.
00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:12.959
That was it.
00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:17.519
But also I just thought, what about if somebody had hit me, that poor person?
00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:24.399
You know, I mean that the trauma that they would go through, I would have hit the person if I'd have been the driver, you know.
00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:30.000
I gave I just kept walking, you know, there was no way if you were close to that chicane that you could have stopped.
00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:34.160
So I just thought, no, this is not just affecting me.
00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:41.199
I have to be aware of how it's affecting other people too, and be more aware of my the things that I I do that can affect.
00:07:41.519 --> 00:08:11.360
Um and um so after that episode, I um I really was quite, you know, it took me a little while to get over that, but I then started on my journey of trying to work out where where do I go from here, what do I do, and so I made lots and lots of different appointments and got to see, you know, I spoke to my GP who said nothing, nothing, those things happen, nothing's going wrong.
00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:22.160
And so I th I I did ask for to go to a neurologist, went to the neurologist and passed all the tests, and I had to get my husband come in to do some tests.
00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:33.840
I got a better score than he did because I was just more aware of some of you know, but um yeah, so it was basically look, everything really is fine.
00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:37.600
So I came away from that going, everything's fine, but I know it's not.
00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:39.440
Yeah, so you still had an instinct.
00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:42.480
Yeah, as far as I was concerned, it wasn't right.
00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:54.879
That wasn't normal behavior for anyone, and particularly I don't think normal behavior for me in terms of being aware of people and think, you know, I'm pretty maybe working early childhood, you have this like you're constantly looking.
00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:55.679
What was that noise?
00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:56.240
Who was that?
00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:57.440
Does somebody need help?
00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:00.159
You know, just totally aware that way.
00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:04.480
Anyway, from I'm sorry if I'm just talking too much.
00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:05.519
No, not at all.
00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:08.159
This is this is amazing, it's very insightful.
00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:12.559
So from that, I was just really fortunate.
00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:27.519
I think I was fortunate going through the local paper, saw this one page big ad for um research being done, which was actually, you know, at a different neurologist um for people who have you know mild symptoms.
00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:29.840
And I thought, oh, that could be me.
00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:30.960
I could be mild.
00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:32.320
I'll take mild.
00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:33.679
That's okay.
00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:46.159
So I went in and you know, did all the the testing, um, which included in that at the time there were only MRIs, there weren't any other, you know, there's a lot of different testing things now.
00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:58.720
But the MRI did show um the either the amyloid or tau, I'm not quite sure, but you know, it did show one of that, yes, this was early, what they called it, early diagnosed.
00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:03.360
So not even early stage dementia, but early diagnosed.
00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:09.759
So it could have gone on longer if much longer if you hadn't had the awareness and the inside past, isn't it?
00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:10.320
That's it.
00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:16.240
It was just that ad and that research that I actually thought, oh, you know, this this could give me what I want.
00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:20.240
Well, that sounds weird because I don't want dementia, but I do want to know do I have dementia.
00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:24.240
I understand that you wanted a directional sort of closure about what was going on for you.
00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:25.679
If it's not that, what is it?
00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:28.480
Yeah, why am I feeling like is it just aging?
00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:29.519
Is it what is it?
00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:30.960
That makes perfect sense.
00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:32.799
So, anyway, it was a drug trial.
00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:36.399
You went on to either a full of the drug, a half of the drug.
00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:39.919
It was an international drug trial, um, or none placebo.
00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:41.360
So you don't know what you're taking.
00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:51.919
I was on whatever it was I was taking for um three weeks when I got an urgent call to say it has been withdrawn from the whole of the world.
00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:54.639
Then there were seven countries involved in this.
00:10:54.960 --> 00:11:01.440
More people had died from um the med after going on medication than they had expected.
00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:02.159
Oh, I think.
00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:05.519
I didn't know that they had actually did expect people to die from it.
00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:07.759
But that more had died from it.
00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:15.600
Yeah, that's very interesting that you went to that extent to get a diagnosis or to get an answer for what you were experiencing.
00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:17.279
That's actually very interesting.
00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:18.320
It's all my comments.
00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:19.039
That's it.
00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:23.759
So so that was my my aim of going into it was, you know, I'll get more information.
00:11:23.919 --> 00:11:27.600
Yeah, you know, I'm going to and the G I'm not complaining about it.
00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:33.039
They'll be doing what they and the neurologist, what they see and do with everybody every day.
00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:39.120
But I think my history of dementia sort of meant I wanted more information, and I needed more.
00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:46.240
So then that was pulled, and I must say, I I hit pretty much bottom ground then because I actually felt like I was doing something.
00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:51.519
I've been proactive, taking a drug that might the whole world might be able to solve.
00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:55.120
And then when it was stopped, it was this feeling of, well, what do I do now?
00:11:55.279 --> 00:12:00.799
You know, this is even worse than before, you know, or lucky that I didn't go into it early.
00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:04.799
You know, you could be one of those other people that didn't make it through.
00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:16.559
But um anyway, so that was that was a big um step back, but I just followed then uh because I had that information that I had early diagnosed.
00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:24.320
Um, I then went back to the neurologist to get opinion on an early diagnosis, and he knew all about the study.
00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:27.440
Um, you know, it wasn't um, it was you know worldwide.
00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:30.960
Um and he said, Yep, okay, you know, good.
00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:33.759
So I said, so where do we go from here?
00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:38.720
And he said, Well, the good news is you don't have to come back for five years.
00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:42.879
Oh five years.
00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:52.320
He said, Yeah, go see the world, travel, you know, do whatever your heart wants to do, enjoy your family, you know, do what you want to.
00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:57.919
And I sort of walked out thinking, okay, I've got to have fun.
00:12:58.639 --> 00:12:59.840
Well, you got early stage.
00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:02.879
I've got early stage dementia, I know that now.
00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:04.559
And I can go and have fun.
00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:06.720
Hmm, what fun am I going to have?
00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:11.840
It was just this really weird sort of that is how do I have this fun now?
00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:15.759
And anyway, so look, he's a really lovely person.
00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:17.279
I, you know, I'm still seeing him.
00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:23.279
I really, really, you know, feel comfortable and confident with he's doing what he's got the information for.
00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:23.600
Yes.
00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:24.639
You know what I mean?
00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:27.200
It's not like he's just making up stuff.
00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:34.000
And he was almost right to the very second, um, in terms of that five years that I started after the five years.
00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:35.519
I did a lot in that five years.
00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:38.559
I did everything I wanted to do in my whole whole life.
00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:44.639
I went to a life coach, life medical coach, doc she's a doctor.
00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:49.840
Um and she was she was brilliant, she still is brilliant.
00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:52.080
And I, you know, explained the situation.
00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:54.399
She said, No, there's you know things that you can do.
00:13:54.639 --> 00:14:00.720
And the and the two things that she said to me um was, you know, what are things you like to do when you were a kid?
00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:01.919
Oh wow.
00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:03.120
Yeah, that's it.
00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:08.240
And I said, Oh, and straight away I just said, Oh, I play tennis and and run.
00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:10.240
You know, I was pretty good at sporty stuff.
00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:21.440
I was hopeless at school, failed everything, but I got every trophy for, you know, and I mean in those days you didn't get trophies anyway, but you know, I said, um, yeah, that's what I like to do.
00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:22.480
She said, Why don't you do it?
00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:26.399
And I went, Oh, I don't, I don't think I could do either of those things.
00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:29.039
Anyway, so I went off without information.
00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:33.200
I thought, oh, you know, I went to get some information, I'll have a think about it, thought about it.
00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:36.960
Friend of mine, Pat, she used to be a tennis coach.
00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:39.360
I wonder if she'd we used we just have coffee.
00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:41.200
I wonder if she'd play tennis.
00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:48.240
And we had the best time for quite a number of years, like up until about the last two years, every Friday.
00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:58.799
Booked the local tennis court,$5 each, played for half an hour, and we didn't, all we did was smash the tennis ball over.
00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:02.960
Like, and the person who won was the one who got the most pings.
00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:07.519
Oh, we didn't serve, we just forehand and backhand.
00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:11.919
It was just running from one side to the other up to the nets, smashing balls.
00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:18.960
The one who had to pay for the coffee was the one who sent most balls over the fence, and you had to go and find the balls.
00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:21.279
So you made your own fun with that?
00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:24.720
Look, we and then we'd go and have our coffee.
00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:26.480
So it was just that was great.
00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:31.120
The other one for running, I thought, I don't know about this, but I really did like running.
00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:40.799
So I sort of just started because I had been walking a lot around here, I started running a little bit and walking and running a little bit and walking, and I thought, oh yeah, that's not too bad.
00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:51.200
So um I actually went to Mingara, which is our local athletics club, and they have a masters um group for people.
00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:56.320
I thought it meant masters meant you're really good at something, but it actually means you're just really old.
00:15:57.360 --> 00:15:59.440
So I was in the masters, that's right.
00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:09.279
And there was a lot of people in the masters, and I'm looking at all these really super fit women and men, and I'm thinking, oh my goodness, I feel like a kindergarten person in here.
00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:15.279
But anyway, I started, you know, doing all I went to training before I, you know, I got a coach.
00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:16.240
Oh wow.
00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:23.120
And you know, sort of did some training with a coach before I kept going because I thought I actually want to catch up to where they are.
00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:25.440
So it was so, so good.
00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:26.879
Sorry.
00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:35.919
Went off to um started doing running, and then I realized there's nobody else in the 70 to 75 age group there.
00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:41.360
So I sort of get a medal every time you do anything because there's nobody else to run against.
00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:42.399
You are a champion.
00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:42.960
I know.
00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:50.480
So this was good because my grandkids were at a stage with all their medals that I was just starting to reap up these medals.
00:16:50.559 --> 00:17:03.679
So I started traveling around and going to the country championships and getting medals for first and it and then I started doing 200 because I thought I might as well sort of walk 200 because nobody else.
00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:13.200
Anyway, long story short, the best part was the national, like the Australian National Masters Games, we're at Olympic Park.
00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:15.839
So I thought, I'll go to Olympic Park.
00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:19.759
Quite a few other people did go to the actual masters.
00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.880
Um, but when we went down for our race, um there were five.
00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:27.519
And I thought, oh well, I can tell the kids I came fifth.
00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:30.720
You know, there's eight people who line up, but there are only five people.
00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:32.160
And I thought that's not too bad.
00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:36.240
I can tell them I came fifth in Australia, you know, because it's amazing.
00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:38.240
So this is good.
00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:44.880
So I went down and it did my you know they all had starting blocks and things, you know.
00:17:44.960 --> 00:17:46.960
And I thought, oh, I didn't think about starting blocks.
00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:50.079
We've still got the ones I had when I was ten in the garage.
00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:58.319
So they went down, um you know, and one person broke, like like went before the the whistle.
00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:01.359
So we had to start all over again.
00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:04.960
So they're stretching, so I'm stretching, doing what they're doing.
00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:07.519
You know, down we go to start, you know, that's right.
00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:12.160
And she broke again, and I thought, oh bugger, I've got third metal.
00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:12.880
That's excellent.
00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.680
I'm not having left here yet.
00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:22.079
So it was just the other two people were there a little bit longer, you know, like before me.
00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:29.200
They waited for me to get there, but I tell you what, it's as fast as I've ever run in terms of my body feeling it.
00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:37.200
I've been I've got a bronze medal that says I came through in Australia's meters, and I figure that was it.
00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:39.119
I mean, I never did it again after that.
00:18:39.279 --> 00:18:39.839
That was it.
00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:41.599
What's a good way to go out, isn't it?
00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:45.359
I can't do any better than that exactly.
00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:48.400
So, yeah, so that was really interesting advice.
00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:51.680
So the advice to become, you know, do what you like to do.
00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:54.319
Yeah, and look for it to do a national medal.
00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:55.039
Exactly.
00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:56.240
That is amazing advice.
00:18:56.559 --> 00:19:05.440
And I mean, I think because of that early diagnosis, you know, I wanted to do whatever my body would let me do at that particular stage or day.
00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:05.839
Yeah.
00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:11.279
And you know, it was still functioning really well, my body, um, in lots of ways, you know.
00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:16.559
Um, but yeah, but I still knew I had other things to be doing too, of course.
00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:20.880
But you know, but it just it was just a real high and it was great for me.
00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:21.759
Oh, definitely.
00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:23.440
Well, you definitely follow that advice.
00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:26.079
I mean, that's excellent advice for other people as well.
00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:29.839
So well, I must say, you know, um I did those sorts.
00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:37.359
The the other thing that she did say was, and they took a bit longer than running 100 metres, was to lose 10 kilos.
00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:40.079
Um, and I went, oh.
00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:44.480
She said, Well, you're asked, you know, you need to go on a better diet.
00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:48.480
So she looked at my diet and um those things.
00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:55.119
Um she said, now the last thing I do want to talk about, and I knew what she was going to say, but we all know alcohol.
00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:57.599
And I thought, no, she's gonna say that word.
00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:00.640
And she said, But what's your alcohol intake?
00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:02.799
This was on like at the very beginning.
00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:07.039
And I went, No, no, not it's you know, I I really don't drink too much, you know.
00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:15.039
The funny thing is, and I said to her, the funny thing is at five o'clock, my body goes, it's one o'clock time.
00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:17.279
And you know, maybe it's 10 to 5, maybe it's 10 past.
00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:18.480
Isn't that amazing?
00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:21.839
And she said, Why do you think that happens?
00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:23.920
And I went, I don't know.
00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:30.880
And she said, But don't you think your body is sort of like addicted to the fact that you need to have a glass of wine?
00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:33.440
And I went, No, I don't think that.
00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:36.480
She said, Well, you just think about it and check it out.
00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:38.400
And it she was right.
00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:39.359
Oh, there you go.
00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:44.160
I it was just the fact that anyway, so she said, So you really need to look your alcohol.
00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:45.920
I said, you know, I have two glasses.
00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:47.119
And she said, How big are the glass?
00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:49.519
And I went, Well, you know, it's really big, I suppose.
00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:57.279
So, anyway, so but what I did was I didn't stop drinking, I just went down.
00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:01.519
I thought, okay, what I'll do is I will only have one glass.
00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:05.119
It might be full to the ring, but it's one and it's less than what I would have been happy to.
00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:06.160
I'll have one.
00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:10.160
Then I would, you know, just have half a glass.
00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:11.119
That was hard.
00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:13.440
No, I'll go back up to two-thirds of a glass.
00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:20.640
It's amazing how your body just wants to do something, and often we have to fight that, I think.
00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:26.640
So that was a really hard thing for me because I figured, you know, my family had drunk all the time.
00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:30.160
They they were very heavy drinkers, wartime and everything.
00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:32.720
So alcohol was just part of my life too.
00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:38.799
But you know, I always thought I didn't drink much, but then getting down, and then I actually stopped drinking.
00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:40.640
I haven't drunk for five years, probably.
00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:48.160
I when I started doing the the running, I started to think, yeah, I've got to because she was the one who said the running, and I thought I can't be running and doing it.
00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:51.359
So, you know, find yourself a lifestyle coach, you know.
00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:52.079
Well, yeah.
00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:56.960
Well, I mean that they're very doable because she was she was looking at everything differently.
00:21:57.119 --> 00:22:00.720
She wasn't looking at dementia, she was looking at lifestyle.
00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:04.799
Yep, and the byproduct is uh is better cognition and better feeling, isn't it?
00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:09.680
And the feeling that you're actually doing something, all those sorts of things, you know.
00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:12.720
So I went and saw her just a couple of months ago this year.
00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:14.400
I haven't seen her for years.
00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:16.640
I said, You probably don't remember me, you know.
00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:19.359
She's trying to look up the records, and I said, blah, blah, blah.
00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:22.240
She went, and I said, I've and she said there and cried.
00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:25.519
I said, I want you to know that I've done this and this and this.
00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:29.599
And and it's because of just those two things that I thought, yeah.
00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:32.079
And the thing is, she planted the seeds for you.
00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:35.279
So you did that out of your own motivation and discipline.
00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:35.839
For sure.
00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:37.839
But she just said this would be good.
00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:40.480
I would never have thought about doing that.
00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:43.599
You know, I would have thought about that alcohol once I got into it.
00:22:43.680 --> 00:22:49.599
And I would have probably not so much even the weight, but you know, just makes everything so much easier, too.
00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:52.000
You know, if you lose a bit of weight, you can do more stuff.
00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:53.839
This is true, and you do feel better.
00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:54.319
Absolutely.
00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:56.000
So that's that's well, there you go.
00:22:56.240 --> 00:23:22.240
So, what we'll do, we'll take a break now, but just as a wrap-up for that, so Robin's shared with us that there's three very easy things that you can do based on the advice from a life coach, and that is do the childlike things, things that you enjoyed doing as a child, hence her running and dropping some weight if anyone needs to, and then reducing alcohol alcohol intake.
00:23:22.319 --> 00:23:23.920
So that's fantastic advice.
00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:26.000
So stay tuned.
00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:38.480
We'll come back with another episode, and Robin's going to share more about after her diagnosis, uh, changes that she's made in her lifestyle, and even talk to us about her experiences with driving.
00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:40.559
So stay tuned and we'll be back.
00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:41.680
Thank you, Robin.
00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.880
Thank you.
