Jim Rogers was diagnosed with dementia at 55. His family - and an unexpected relationship - saved him

Curveball

Jim Rogers is a go getter. He married early, started a family quickly, moved up the career ladder rapidly. He was quick to leave his small British town, bound for adventure.

But then things took a devastating turn for his young family. “It was just somebody smashing the entire world up,” Jim recalls of his wife’s unexpected death. “I had three young children who were heartbroken, trying to come to terms with believing this was even true.”

Left to pick up the pieces raising his kids, Jim carried on. But one question lingered: how to move on with life? A chance encounter on a holiday led Jim to a new, but very unexpected, kind of love. “I thought: ‘I’ve just lost my wife, I can’t begin a relationship with him’.”

Then, at the peak of his career, Jim’s mind began to betray him. Familiar faces blurred, filing systems faltered, and conversations slipped away. These seemingly innocuous symptoms would lead to shocking diagnosis.

Jim’s now raising awareness of younger onset Alzheimer’s as the co-host of Dementia Australia’s Hold the Moment podcast. Hear how he’s confronted grief, embraced love, and redefined his outlook on life.

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This episode was produced by Luci McAfee. Executive producer is Kellie Riordan.

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