One of the things I remember when I think of Mum, was just how brave and fearless she was in living her life. Where others might waiver, Mum would take the bull by the horns and seize every opportunity given to her. In her younger days, she was an awesome sportswoman and loved adventures like any good tomboy. It was therefore all the more out of character when Mum started to become anxious and timid when faced with doing certain things.

If anyone reading this has visited the city of Sydney in Australia, you will no doubt have been into the magnificent Queen Victoria Building in the inner city centre. With its stunning architecture, sweeping staircases and gorgeous stained glass windows, it is a beautiful building to spend time in. Mum and Dad used to go there often for afternoon tea, and Dad would visit the hobby shop at the very top of the building. There is a long escalator to get up to the hobby shop and Mum would never have thought twice about stepping onto it, until one day Dad said he noticed she seemed very nervous. He had to coax her to take the first step and once on it Mum appeared overwhelmed. As her Alzheimer’s progressed, it got to the stage where Mum was too frightened to even get onto an escalator and I would have to go into the hobby shop for Dad to buy whatever supplies he needed.