Man from Omagh speaks out about Alzheimer’s

WHEN Paul Monaghan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s five-and-a-half years ago, only a few months from his 60th birthday, he thanked God that his fate was not worse that it was.

Where many would have left the hospital cursing their misfortune, Paul accepted the hand that he had been dealt.

Reclining alongside his wife Faustina in their quaint, antique-laden living room at Brookmount Crescent in Omagh, Paul told the UH how, while Alzheimer’s certainly changes your life, it need not feel like the end of it.

Immediate acceptance

“I started taking bad headaches in 2017 and found myself forgetting wee things,” recalled Paul, “so I made an appointment with the GP.”

Soon after seeing his GP, Paul found himself at the memory clinic, failing test after test.

“Then I had a brain scan and six weeks later I was called back to see a doctor, who told me that my brain had shrunk.”

Sitting across from his consultant, Paul was told that he had early-onset Alzheimer’s.

“I just went home and said to myself, ‘Here, it could be far worse. I could have cancer with six months to live. I am not going to let this beat me.”

A scary mythology

Alzheimer’s is a form of brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. It is one of the most common forms of dementia, and the first signs in people who have it usually develop in their mid-60s or later.

“I remember the consultant telling me to ‘get your affairs in order’, as though I had just been handed a death sentence,” said Paul.

“There was no need for that, but it is typical of the sort of attitude that both the public and medical profession have towards Alzheimer’s and dementia.”

Faustina agreed with Paul that the prevailing rhetoric around the condition only serves to scare those who receive a diagnosis, and their families.

“If you read the books or look online, you will often see that you have five years from your diagnosis. And though that is certainly the case for some people, it is simply not the case for everyone,” she said.

A corrective campaign

“The world needs to know that dementia doesn’t mean the end of your life, and for the last few years I have been trying to tell people this,” said Paul.

By speaking in universities, attending awareness raising rallies, and developing educational apps, Paul has pursued an active campaign to improve the lives of people with dementia.

“There are so many things that could make life easier for people with dementia, and, to me, increasing public understanding of the condition and reducing stigma are crucial,” said Paul. “In my experience, even doctors and nurses have a lot to learn about how to interact with people who suffer from dementia.”

‘Life goes on’

Though Paul and Faustina appreciate that their future will to some extent be shaped by the progress of Paul’s condition, they are resolute in their belief that each day has the potential to be a good one.

“There are things that I used to do that I cannot do anymore,” said Paul, who, due to blockages in his legs, now finds old hobbies like fishing, gardening, and bird breeding more challenging that he once did, (‘but I do not let it bother me’)

“I just tell myself, ‘If I was fit to do it, I would but I am not, so I won’t. If I allowed myself to think of it too much, I would only torture myself, and I do not want to do that, so I just accept it.”

To death do us part

Paul, looking across to his wife, continued, “Since my diagnosis, Faustina and I have probably become closer.”

‘Tina explained how she was scared in the early days of the diagnosis, having seen dementia take its hold on other family members.

However, Paul’s positivity, she said, had buoyed own her spirits too.

“It took a while,” said Faustina, “but the children have their heads around it now as well. And, yes, though it has affected Paul’s health to a certain extent, he is still positive, and he is still Paul to me, and he always will be.”

Concluding, Paul said, “Here, if I could give it away I could.

“But this is the hand I have been dealt.”