By Ewen McRae
Whitney Robertson had noticed issues with her mum’s memory for some time, but it still came as a shock when she was diagnosed with younger onset Alzheimer’s last year, at the age of 59.
The Melton West resident said spreading awareness had become a big focus for her following her mum’s diagnosis, so she will be taking part in the Dementia Australia Memory Walk on May 5.
“We’d noticed some issues with her memory over a period of three or four years … eventually we convinced her to go to the doctor about it,” Ms Robertson said.
“From there, I decided to look around to see what sort of support was out there for it and came across the Memory Walk. I thought it would be a good way to show mum some support from the people around her.
“I guess there’s some stigma around dementia and we’re trying to break that. It’s not just something that happens to old people and it’s something that more and more people are going to encounter.”
Ms Robertson is hoping to add to the $1700 her team has so far raised towards the
cause.
While her mum’s diagnosis was a shock,
Ms Robertson said her family was trying to remain positive.
“It’s obviously affected my life, but as a family we’re trying to talk openly about it and face this together,” she said. “Mum can’t control that this has happened to her, so we just want to give her all the support that we can.
“I’m lucky that I have my little girl … now we’re making sure that they get all the moments together and documenting it so she can know the relationship that my mum had with her.”
Details: memorywalk.com.au
