Episode 4

The noise and unbearable clatter of city life has meant a move to more peaceful surroundings for Wendy, in a new home near her daughter Gemma.

Wendy Mitchell was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's​ at the age of 58 ​. ​But after a 20 year career in the NHS, based in York, this single mother of two adult daughters was not going to ​just ​give in.

Th​is is her account, written with Anna Wharton, of how she determined to try and outsmart the challenges served up by the dementia on a daily basis. ​Every tiny victory was hard won.​ Every day is faced with courage and resourcefulness.​

​F​our years on from th​e​ diagnosis, she still lives independently, spends more time than ever travelling th​roughout the UK to give talks​, ​​ ​and ​continues to ​do whatever she can to change a society that views dementia as a death sentence. Her driving force is a compulsion to live in the moment, never knowing which version of herself ​- somebody she used to know - ​ might greet ​her ​when she wakes ​each​ morning.​ ​

Written by Wendy Mitchell and Anna Wharton
Abridged by Amanda Hargreaves
Read by Tessa Gallagher
Produced by Lizzie Davies
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.