4 days ago
Jackie Stewart opens up about caring for wife with dementia
Formula 1 champion Jackie Stewart is caring for his wife, Helen, who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in 2014.
Stewart, 86, built a specially adapted apartment next to their home to care for Helen, 84, preferring this to a care home.
He established the charity Race Against Dementia in 2016, investing millions into research for a cure, having been dismayed by conditions in some care facilities.
Helen's FTD has caused significant behavioural and language changes, including instances of aggression and uncharacteristic speech.
Stewart is funding a University of Cambridge trial for a blood test to detect FTD decades earlier, amidst reports of lengthy waiting times for dementia diagnoses in the UK.