We were incredibly moved to be featured in a powerful ITV News piece, sharing the journey of our resident Ian Burton and his wife Wendy.

Wendy helps to spread awareness of the rarer types of dementia. She also talks to medical students about Ian in the hope the doctors of tomorrow will have a better understanding of this devastating disease.

Ian has frontotemporal dementia, the same condition the actor Bruce Willis was diagnosed with, which typically begins at a younger age. He was diagnosed at just 50 and his story is one of resilience. At the heart of it is Wendy, whose love, strength, and unwavering dedication are truly inspiring. She is a remarkable example of what it means to care, advocate, and endure with grace.

Their courage and honesty highlight the profound impact this condition has not only on memory, but on joy, mobility, and relationships.

The ITV piece explained how people tend to associate dementia with the elderly, but it is in fact no respecter of age. Ian has just celebrated his 61st birthday he’s been living with the disease for 11 years. Ian now lives at Barrowhill Hall in our separate household, Churnet Lodge, which is thought to be one of the few care homes in the country with a section specially for people with early onset dementia. The care and the home are tailored for those living with young onset dementia, for example, the corridors are wider because being younger the residents are more mobile. Our youngest resident at Churnet Lodge is just 45.

For Ian it started with changes in character and wandering off from his workplace. He’s now unable to walk and can’t communicate with Wendy, their three daughters and grandchildren.

Wendy says, “Ian served in the army, he worked with the Derbyshire police, he put his life on the line with the army, he did everything to try and keep the streets safe, and then this cruel thing has happened.

“He was a lovely family man, a law abiding citizen, everything about him was nice, he’d got a great sense of humour and it’s just been ripped from him.

“Everyone thinks with dementia that somebody loses their memory, that’s the main thing, But with frontotemporal dementia that’s very often the last thing to go. When Ian had his first memory test he scored 29 out of 30 we don’t know what his memory is like now because he’s non-verbal and that we can’t tell.

“I most miss his company, I don’t dwell on what we could have done, that we can’t do, because that’s a waste of energy really, let’s just embrace what we’ve got now.”

Our home manager Dania Meadows says, “It’s devastating to see the person that you love disappear in front of you. You might be planning to travel, you’re at the peak of your career and it comes at the time when nobody is suspecting.

“Our team work tirelessly to care for our residents and to support their loved ones who become part of our Barrowhill Hall family too.”

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