best for REAL LIFE
When Anita Goundry-Smith received a shock diagnosis, she resigned herself to a life alone. Then, completely unexpectedly, she fell in love…
Saying my wedding vows in September 2023, I couldn’t stop smiling. It felt completely surreal but so wonderful, to be a bride, marrying the love of my life.
Just three and a half years before, my world had been turned upside down when I was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
I was 51, soon to turn 52, when my world came crashing in. I felt as if my life was over,. I had no hope and saw no future for myself.
I remembered vividly when things first started to change. It was 2012, I was 44. I’d always had a sharp memory but suddenly I couldn’t remember people’s names, the password for my computer, or sometimes even where I was travelling to on my motorbike.
My balance was affected, too. I started to stumble and trip over, even breaking my ankle.
A mum of two, I was juggling my job as a pub landlady with studying for a degree in social work. Usually so organised and in control, I’d started to forget to pick my daughter up from school or miss university classes.
I saw my GP multiple times but my symptoms were blamed on the menopause and stress. ‘Try acupuncture, exercise and meditation,’ I was told, even being described in my medical notes as a ‘hysterical hypochondriac.’
As my symptoms worsened, my mental health deteriorated, I was terrified about what was wrong with me and frustrated nobody seemed to be listening.
I was in a long-term relationship at the time, and it was put under enormous strain, with my ex having to become more like a carer than a partner, as I struggled to cope.
In December 2019, I had a TIA (transient ischemic attack) which is often known as a ‘warning stroke’. My face drooped, my vision blurred, and my right side was weak. I was discharged from hospital a few hours later with some blood-thinning medication.
It was only in 2020, when I had a full-blown stroke, that brain scans revealed I was suffering from Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.
Hearing that diagnosis was like having an out-of-body experience. It didn’t make sense, I was only 51, those were conditions that affected elderly people – or so I believed.
It was a huge shock and devastating news. I’d known something was wrong but never expected this.
I was prescribed medication and given a life expectancy of between three and five years.
In my lowest moments, I
