Cian Adams (left) and Jordan Adams have spoken out about what it is like to live with it (Picture: UNKNOWN)
Two young brothers in their 20s have both been diagnosed with a rare form of dementia.
Jordan and Cian Adams, aged 28 and 23 respectively, from Redditch, Worcestershire, have Frontotemporal Dementia, or FTD, a rare type of dementia caused by damage to the nerve cells at the front of the brain.
It mostly affects people under the age of 65 but their symptoms are likely to become symptomatic in their early 40s so could lose their lives within ten years of diagnosis.
To make matters worse there is currently no cure.
Their mother Geraldine also died from the same condition at the age of just 52 in 2016 and she could not speak or move unaided and did not recognise her children by the end of her life.
But the brothers are determined to see the positives and Jordan told MailPlus: ‘Our lives may be shorter than most but this has made us both determined to make the most of the time we have.
‘We want to do everything we can to live a meaningful life, to raise awareness and funds [to fight] this horrible disease.’
Those sentiments are echoed by his younger brother who said: ‘A million times over I wish this had never, ever happened, that we’d never had to deal with this.
Cian graduated from university and works as a physiotherapist (Picture Collect Image)
They are raising money for a cause close to their heart (Picture: Collect Image)
‘It’s horrible and I wish it wasn’t the case but it has given us meaning and a chance to make a difference in the world.’
And they are making a difference by running the length of the UK to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
They have already raised £150,000 and set off from John O’Groats last month and hope by the time they reach Cornwall they will have raised £1million.
Cian said: ‘Every day we think, Not again! But it’s just not an option to stop. There’s a really good reason why we’re doing this and that’s what keeps us going.’
They are doing all of this in memory of their mum too and Cian said: ‘She’d cook a big chilli con carne and we’d have all our cousins round on a mid-week night after school.
‘She used to love her R&B music, too. She’d quite frequently have it blasting in the car when we’d be on the way to school.’
Kennedy did not inherit dementia like her brothers (Picture: Collect Image)
The brothers older sister Kennedy did not inherit FTD despite her two younger brothers developing it.
Cian said: ‘I think in many ways it’s just as bad for her as it is for us.
‘We are so close and she knows she is going to have to watch us go through it, whenever that may be.’
The brothers are aware the gene could be passed on to their future children as well.
Jordan felt he had to be transparent with his wife about what he is living …read more
Source:: Metro