04 March 2024 , 22:32
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A mum has told of her heartbreak at her son developing dementia aged just 22.
Sam Fairbairn, 47, thinks the devastating diagnosis makes son Andre Yarham Britain’s youngest dementia sufferer.
Sam, who has left her job as a coach driver to care for Andre, says his first symptoms were slow movement and speech. He was a normal lad growing up, she said, who enjoyed rugby and football at school.
As an adult Andre got a job at luxury car maker Lotus, replacing ceiling fabrics. He left after just six months. Sam said he was struggling to get through the working day but was unable to express what was wrong.
Around the same time, November 2022, Sam noticed a difference in his speech. She said: “He was always chatty. But it got to the point where you’d ask him a question and you’d just get a three or four-word answer. He’d move ever so slowly and when you’d ask him to do something, you’d just get a blank expression. Then he’d walk off as if you hadn’t asked him.”
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Sam with son Andre (Sam Fairbairn)Sam, who had previously worked with adults with learning disabilities, noticed traits of autism and decided to get Andre tested. She said: “He scored highly on the autism test but the waiting list was five to seven years so a family member paid for us to go private. I just knew something still wasn’t quite right. He was saying less and less, and moving more slowly.”
Andre, who lives in Norwich, Norfolk, was sent for an MRI scan at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital in October 2023. It revealed Andre had atrophy of his brain’s frontal lobe. Usually seen in much older people, the condition can cause problems with behaviour and language. Sam said: “The consultant said it was like looking at the brain of a 70-year-old.”
Andre loved rugby as a boy (Sam Fairbairn / SWNS)Andre was referred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, where experts are carrying out genome testing. His family hope the tests will show the cause and exact type of his dementia but the follow-up is not for another six months.
Sam said Andre’s dementia, putting him among the 0.1% of under-65s with the condition, had been “very tough” on her, husband Alastair, 60, and Andre’s brother Tyler, 21. Her caring duties include washing Andre, as he cannot remember how.
Knowing Andre has a shortened life expectancy – though doctors cannot say by how much – Sam created a bucket list for him. It includes trips to Shrek’s Adventure in London and the Harry Potter Studio Tour, if affordable.
She added: “Even if there’s no cure – which there isn’t for dementia – any trials we can take part in would help. Although they might not work for Andre, any research might help someone else in the future – and we’ll take that.”
Sam created a bucket list for Andre (Sam Fairbairn / SWNS)A cruel degeneration
Dementia is a degeneration of the brain that causes a progressive decline in the abilities to think, reason, communicate and remember. The patient’s personality, behaviour and mood can also be affected.
Dementia is described as “young onset” when symptoms develop before 65 – usually after 30. But last year a 19-year-old was reported to be the youngest known patient diagnosed with probable Alzheimer’s, a form of dementia.
As reported in the Journal for Alzheimer’s Disease, the man from Chinese capital Beijing began experiencing gradual memory loss and difficulty concentrating from the age of 17. The teenager showed a steady decline in memory and focus. Medical studies found physiological markers for Alzheimer’s disease.
The UK’s youngest patient before Andrew was thought to be a 23-year-old man. The patient was told he would develop symptoms of dementia and perhaps Parkinson’s disease too.
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