Retired broadcaster Alastair Stewart has opened up about his life with dementia, explaining that one part is especially ‘demeaning and soul destroying’. The 72-year-old, who’s among Britain’s longest serving newsreaders, was diagnosed with a ‘vascular’ form of the cognitive condition two years ago, triggered by a lack of blood flow to the brain.
For Alastair, this has led to various unexpected daily challenges, including spatial awareness and memory issues. The former ITV and GB News journalist has even found tying shoelaces a struggle, but it is the changing relationship with his wife that has been most difficult.
“It is demeaning and soul destroying, and she comes to it from a position of enormous calibre and talent,” Alastair said in an interview with The Telegraph. “I hate reducing her role in life to being my carer.”
Alastair met his wife, Sally, almost 50 years ago at a Southampton-based TV centre where she worked as a production assistant. Initially finding him ‘cocky’ and ‘not particularly nice’, Sally’s opinion changed after a Christmas party, and they have been together ever since.
Without her now, Alastair admitted that he’d be ‘finished’ as she helps him get dressed, travel and arranges others to check on him when she isn’t around. And although Sally confessed she had lost some independence too, she asserted that they just ‘have to keep going’ for the sake of their loved ones.
“They don’t want to see their father not being well or see me feeling sorry for myself, or bursting into tears, so I try to be positive,” she told the publication. NHS figures suggest that vascular dementia currently impacts around 180,000 people in the UK. While the condition tends to worsen over time, it’s sometimes possible to slow its progression.
Slowness of thought, difficulty planning, mood changes and concentration problems are among its most common symptoms, in addition to confusion and balancing issues. NHS Wales advice further states: “These problems can make daily activities increasingly difficult and someone with the condition may eventually be unable to look after themselves.
“See a GP if you think you have early symptoms of dementia, especially if you’re over 65 years of age. If it’s found at an early stage, treatment may be able to stop vascular dementia getting worse, or at least slow it down.
“If you’re worried about someone else, encourage them to make an appointment with a GP and perhaps suggest that you go with them. Your GP can do some simple checks to try to find the cause of your symptoms. They can refer you to a memory clinic or another specialist for further tests if needed.”