![]() ![]() I fell on my face, exactly as on the Ridgeway, injuring my nose and chin. But in January 2021, I fell over again – while walking on a pavement near our house. Once I recovered, I continued running and exercising. The question (asked largely in retrospect) is: why didn’t I put my arms out to break my fall? Was that an early sign that something was amiss? We walked quickly back to the car but I slipped in the mud and fell flat on my face, injuring my nose badly. It was a lovely sunny day but the clouds suddenly began to darken and it started raining torrentially. ![]() In mid-May, Helen and I were walking on the Ridgeway in the Chilterns. The gym shut in March 2020 because of lockdown restrictions. I was then a bit overweight, so I adopted a fairly rigorous exercise routine to lose some pounds and get fitter. Black gay skype free#I had what my cardiologist later described as a “tiny” heart attack and had to spend two nights in the Royal Free hospital in London. It wasn’t too painful but it was definitely there. In May 2019, while doing laps in the pool, I noticed an unusual tightness in my chest. Uncertainty about the future was the worst thing about it. I was also, obviously, worried about how this strange illness might progress. I talked a lot less than before as I was scared of sounding inarticulate. ![]() The specific medical term for my speech problems is primary progressive aphasia. Nevertheless, I told them what was going on, as I was getting increasingly anxious to explain myself. But close friends didn’t notice my speaking difficulties for several months. Helen was aware of all this, of course our daughters and my son less so. When I later saw a neurologist, privately, at Queen Square in London (the most renowned centre of neurological research in the UK), his conclusion from his own scan was unhesitatingly that I had frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), though, again, not yet dementia. Scans are pictures that always need to be interpreted by a specialist. (Back then I was 67.) In retrospect that misleading assessment was simply a lack of expertise. The result of that was that I had “normal” deterioration for my age. I also underwent an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan of my brain. I also worried about how this strange illness might progress I talked a lot less, as I was scared of sounding inarticulate. That word, “dementia”, I found extremely upsetting and negative, so Helen and I began to refer to it as “degeneration” or “the D-word”. It is not a type of dementia, but for many people it is an intermediate stage leading to the development of diseases such as Alzheimer’s. MCI is a condition that causes memory and thinking problems, affecting between 5% and 20% of people over 65. The final assessment was that I was suffering from mild cognitive impairment. Black gay skype series#Starting in February 2021, I went through a series of tests: my ability with words, short-term memory, drawing (copying shapes), speech. I had to wait a long time for that next stage. Black gay skype professional#Then, in late September 2020, with Helen, I saw a neuropsychologist, who recommended that I undergo a professional assessment. Despite his reluctance, I insisted a few days later on being referred to a specialist at a nearby London hospital.Ĭovid restrictions and unprecedented pressure on the NHS delayed my first appointment by several weeks. “You sound fine to me,” he told me during our phone consultation. Finally, I contacted my GP, who was initially dismissive about my speech concerns. Still, my slow response, and not being able to answer an entirely reasonable question in sufficient detail, were worrying. I felt embarrassed because I was less articulate than usual – “lost for words”, as the saying goes.Īpart from myself, I didn’t think anyone would have noticed, particularly as the interview involved an Arabic interpreter. I can’t remember which one or what the topic was – probably the Middle East, my main area of expertise, or possibly Brexit. Black gay skype tv#It wasn’t a casual chat with my wife, Helen, or our two daughters, or my son who lives in the US, but a Skype or Zoom interview about international affairs with a TV channel. I t was in the summer of 2020 – at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic – that I first noticed a problem. ![]()
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