Little things mean a lot - a carer's experiment with a drinking straw for Mum leaves son Andrew upbeat

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Son Andrew makes Mum smile by saying she's been 'perky'. He reflects on a day when, after a long gap, she's drinking under her own steam again. A carer experiments by giving Carolyn a straw in a small glass. Not only is she able to hold it herself, but sipping proves much easier than it is using a cup with a lid. Mum has a trim in the afternoon, leaving Andrew to nurse a sore back. He now has to shift her forward in the reclining chair so the hairdresser can reach the back of her head. He turns 55 in January 2022, and remembers his sadness the first time that Mum - because of the dementia - forgot his birthday. Mum and Me: The Dementia Diary was originally broadcast on BBC Radio Leeds.