Neil’s story: Living the best life possible

"I am not “suffering” from dementia, I am living with dementia and living the best life possible. That’s something I feel very strongly about.

"I vividly remember receiving my diagnosis in August 2023 – what a traumatic day that was. My father and grandfather both had dementia, so it has always been a concern for me. But that didn’t make it any easier to have it officially confirmed.

"I’ve always liked to challenge myself and have a project to keep me busy – whether it’s renovating a house, playing guitar or learning new skills. I try to keep my brain as active as possible and that’s more important now than ever.

"I retired from the police about 15 years ago, having worked mainly as a detective managing crime scenes, as well as leading the child protection unit. It was a demanding job but it was never boring, that’s for sure. It was through work that I got involved in fostering and shortly after I retired my wife and I adopted our son, who is our eighth child. He’s seven and is an amazing boy who keeps us young.

"I did a few jobs to keep busy after retirement – working as a driver, playing in a band and also running a mobile disco for a while. Now I work two hours a day in the local primary school in Dunoon as a janitor. I’m from Glasgow but have lived and worked across the west of Scotland, most recently in Paisley with my wife and our four children, but we’re now in Dunoon.

"One of my main concerns after the diagnosis was whether I could keep my job. Thankfully the education department were really good about it and are happy for me to keep working as long as I’m able to. I’ve put a few extra measures in place just to keep me right. I use notebooks and checklists to write down everything that needs to be done, rather than relying on my memory. There’s also a lot of technology that can help, like Alexa and mobile phones.

"I received post-diagnostic support from Alzheimer Scotland, and that’s been a big help. I’m going to get involved with their Scottish Dementia Working Group, because I really like the idea of pushing for change and improving legislation and support for people with dementia.

"I saw a post on Facebook for Alzheimer Scotland’s zipslide across the Clyde in August and shared it, thinking my kids might like to do it. Next thing I know my daughter Lynsey gets in touch saying she’d love to do the zipslide with me, and then my friends Derek and Gillian signed up too. I’ve suffered from vertigo the past few years, but I thought this would be a good way to challenge myself while raising money for a great cause."

Support Neil on his JustGiving page here.

Fancy a challenge? Find out more about zipslide across the Clyde 2024 here.