![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/FrankandLorraineStua_45669-1-rotated.jpg\")
Frank and Lorraine Stuart are navigating their own dementia journey. Photo: Evie Lamb.<\/p>\nFrank Stuart\u2019s Alzheimer\u2019s disease diagnosis has challenged him, but it hasn\u2019t stopped him living a full and active life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first most confronting issue is lack of independence,\u201d Stuart said.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably the biggest setback for me was not being able to drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
During Dementia Action Week until 27 September, Stuart and his wife Lorraine are sharing their personal journey through the confronting experience, to help other Ballarat locals recognise the signs and seek support sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was diagnosed in 2023, and we\u2019ve had to adjust our daily life and lead a new lifestyle,\u201d Stuart said.<\/p>\n
Adapting to their new reality has been difficult for the active retired couple who loved caravanning the length and breadth of Australia, particularly as everyday tasks became more challenging.<\/p>\n
Determined to focus on what they could control, Stuart embraced alterations including exercise, healthy eating, puzzles, and volunteering with organisations including St John\u2019s and the St Vincent de Paul Society, while staying socially connected with friends and family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve also been on a couple of trials with medications,\u201d Stuart said.<\/p>\n
He also had some helpful words for others contending with a similar experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is an incredible amount of support in the community, and we are very lucky here in Ballarat to have the medical support we have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Frank and Lorraine Stuart are navigating their own dementia journey. Photo: Evie Lamb.<\/p>\n
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\u201cOne of the biggest problems is people locking themselves away when there\u2019s plenty of things that can be done and opportunities for people to get support.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople shouldn\u2019t give up and shouldn\u2019t be afraid to ask for help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Geriatrician Dr Mark Hohenberg said one of the most common misconceptions is that increasing forgetfulness is a normal part of ageing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile some changes in thinking can occur as we get older, persistent or worsening memory loss is not considered a normal part of healthy ageing and may be an early sign of a disease process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo many Australians are dismissing these symptoms as \u2018just old age\u2019, potentially delaying opportunities to improve their health and function or prevent dementia.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Dementia Australia, the disease is now the leading cause of death for Australians with an estimated 446,500 Aussies currently living with it.<\/p>\n
Without a significant intervention, that number is forecast to increase to more than 1 million by 2065.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Frank Stuart\u2019s Alzheimer\u2019s disease diagnosis has challenged him, but it hasn\u2019t stopped him living a full and active…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":906683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,137],"class_list":["post-906682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=906682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/906683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=906682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=906682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=906682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}