Somebody I used to know
Wendy Mitchell spent twenty years as a non-clinical team leader in the NHS before being diagnosed with young onset dementia in July 2014 at the age of fifty eight. All at once, she had to say goodbye to the woman she used to be. Her demanding career, her ability to drive, cook and run - the various shades of her independence - were suddenly gone.
Shocked by the lack of awareness about the disease, she vowed to spend her time raising awarenesss and encouraging others to see that there is life after a diagnosis. She is now an ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society and in 2019 she was made an honourary Doctor of Health by the University of Bradford for her contribution to research.