Kim started to forget faces and come across things. She blamed her glasses – then doctors revealed that she had dementia. Now they warn about the early sign that too much ignore

When Kim Norris started to bump into things, misunderstood distances and walked past people who knew without realizing it, she started the problem with her new glasses.

But when she went to the optician, they assured her that the recipe was perfect.

The problems deteriorated until doctors finally had a diagnosis in 2021: the customer service agent from Warwickshire, 62, had a rare form of dementia.

It was posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) – a degenerative and ultimately fatal form of dementia that tends to hit earlier than most and starts with influencing the rear part of the brain that processes visual information.

Kim’s husband Andy, 66, a retired car selling manager, says: “Her eyesight is good-er is nothing wrong with her eyes but her ‘brain seat’, the part of her brain that makes sense of what she sees, is pink.”

As part of the Dementia Action Week of Alzheimer’s Society, Andy revealed how PCA Kim changed an outdoor lovering woman into a prisoner into her own house.

And experts warn that although memory loss and language problems are the most common early signs of dementia, vision problems can also be red flags.

Sebastian Crutch, professor of neuropsychology at the Dementia Research Center of the University College, says: ‘Health care patients and health care professionals should understand that dementia symptoms are not always what they expect.

‘With PCA, the early signs often relate to eyesight – such as wrestling with visual or spatially complex tasks, for example parallel parking. People also report problems with reading, such as losing their place on the page or skipping words without notice. Some even describe objects that seem to disappear before their eyes. ‘

Despite the alarming symptoms, the diagnosis can take years. Prof. Crutch adds: ‘The average starting time for PCA is 59. But a triple Whammy of factors can slow the diagnosis. First, the symptoms do not seem typical of dementia because people do not complain about memory problems.

‘Secondly, patients describe vision problems, so everyone assumes that the problem is the eyes.

‘And thirdly, the misconception means that dementia is limited to older people, doctors often think:’ You are too young for dementia … It must be something else. ” ‘

Dementia, who affects more than 980,000 people in the UK – is an umbrella term for diseases that cause a decrease in brain function.

The most common form is the Van Alzheimer, where it is thought that abnormal proteins accumulate in and around brain cells, usually in the middle part responsible for memory and language, which causes confusion and speech problems.

PCA, a form of Alzheimer’s that is thought to affect five to 15 percent of people with the disease, effects where visual information is processed.

Patients struggle to recognize faces, observe objects or to assess the size and distance.

Most initially suffer from memory loss or brain fog, but as the disease progresses, it can spread over the brain, causing these typical Alzheimer’s symptoms. Falling brain function ultimately leads to life -threatening complications, such as infections, dehydration and malnutrition.

Kim’s symptoms first emerged in 2019. Andy says: “When she went to the opticians, they were adamant to have the right lenses.”

An MRI showed no problems with her eyes or optic nerve, but after struggling in cognitive tests, doctors said she had PCA.

Andy says, “We never thought Kim might have dementia.”

During their 19-year-old marriage, the couple enjoyed that adult children from previous relationships enjoyed walking and sights on holiday to Tenerife and Wales.

But PCA has left Kim, now 66, almost home -bound.

Andy adds: ‘She points to something in total the wrong direction. If there is a black mat on a white floor, she cannot say whether it is a hole in which she can fall.

‘She gets very confused, struggles with names and finds TV programs difficult to follow. Sudden sounds make her jump. She puts her blouse in the inside and her shoes on the wrong feet. ‘

Doctors estimate that life expectancy for a PCA patient is seven to eight years after the diagnosis.

Andy says: ‘Kim is aware of what is happening and tries to laugh, but sometimes I find her sobbing. We agreed to maintain a sense of humor, but that becomes more difficult every day. ‘

In 2007, Sir Terry Pratchett – author of the Discworld fantasy novels who died in 2015 was diagnosed with PCA at the age of 59 and wrote: ‘It was my types and spelling that convinced me that the diagnosis was good. They had become confused. ‘

He added: “The disease slides away something at the same time and lets you see it happen.”

He had visited a support group that was run by Prof. Crutch in collaboration with Alzheimer’s Society, called Rare Dementia Support.

Prof. Crutch says: ‘Most people have never heard of PCA. So when people are diagnosed, part of the fear is the feeling that they are the only ones. This can be prevented by meeting experiences and sharing it with others who live with this condition. ‘