Nine years ago, my dad had a series of mini-strokes. Amid all the brain tests and blood tests, the doctors also gave him a questionnaire to fill out – asking him to draw the hands of a clock, identify a number of animals and remember five words to recite back at the end of the test.
From this, he was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s, coupled with vascular dementia, at the age of 69. It was a shock.
My sister and I had always been more worried by mum, who exhibited numerous signs of memory loss, while my dad – still in his sixties and fit – had disappeared contentedly behind his newspaper since his retirement. We thought he’d wanted a quiet life, not that there was anything wrong.
While there was a lot of denial of the diagnosis initially (and more by mum when she was also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s six months later, also aged 69), there was, at least, an understanding that even if things were broadly functioning now, it would be prudent to plan for later.
So I called a solicitor to organise a Power of Attorney (PoA) – the Scottish equivalent of a Lasting Power of Attorney in England.
