'Pauline Quirke doesn't recognise her family just like my gran - these were the early warning signs of her dementia'

Birds of a Feather histrion Pauline Quirke has been friends with Loose Women star, and erstwhile actress, Linda Robson for much than 50 years, but the second has present opened up connected however Pauline is present struggling to recognise her loved ones.

With a dense heart, Linda precocious told Express.co.uk: "I person noticed a existent quality with her; she doesn’t retrieve her grandchildren, truthful she’s not going to retrieve who I americium adjacent though we’ve been friends 56 years. It truly is sad."

Pauline, 65, and her household are not unsocial with their struggles pursuing her dementia diagnosis, which Jess knows astir each excessively well. Jess, 27, from the East Midlands, is utilizing TikTok to stock the interaction of dementia successful hopes of providing solace to others facing akin situations.

Jess, an admin idiosyncratic who prefers not to uncover her past name, has watched her 92-year-old grandmother, affectionately known arsenic Jean, deteriorate since her diagnosis of vascular dementia and Alzheimer's illness successful 2017.

Initially presenting with forgetfulness and equilibrium issues, Jean's information has progressed to the constituent wherever she is present bedridden successful a attraction home, incapable to execute basal tasks specified arsenic eating, drinking, oregon dressing herself. The astir devastating infinitesimal for Jess came past twelvemonth erstwhile Jean nary longer recognised her, wholly forgetting Jess' beingness — a infinitesimal Jess describes arsenic "heartbreaking".

To scope retired to those who mightiness beryllium feeling the aforesaid pain, Jess uploaded a video connected TikTok capturing the precious moments they erstwhile shared. Her posts person since touched millions.

Speaking to PA Real Life, Jess expressed the sorrow of seeing her nan's representation fade: "She conscionable doesn’t cognize who I americium anymore, she doesn’t recognise me, and sometimes she’s surviving successful specified a young property that she doesn’t adjacent cognize she has grandchildren."

She mourns the nonaccomplishment of the idiosyncratic her grandma erstwhile was: "She’s virtually forgotten everything astir her full beingness that she built, she’s conscionable a ammunition of herself."

Despite the ravages of the disease, Jess notes that Jean's innate warmth remains intact: "But anyone who steps into the country with my nan, nary substance wherever she is successful her dementia journey, they’ve ever travel crossed the warmth that she has astir her."

Jess fondly remembers her grandmother's generous spirit: "She’s got specified a bosom of golden and she would bash thing for anyone."

Jess shared that Jean, a Chesterfield native, spent her moving years astatine the Trebor factory, wherever she wrapped mints and crafted jar labels. Jean tied the knot with her hubby Arthur successful 1951, and their diamond day (60 years) successful 2011 was marked by a missive from the precocious Queen Elizabeth II.

Tragically, Arthur succumbed to crab the pursuing year. Jess spoke of the "close bond" she shares with her grandmother, who played a pivotal relation successful her upbringing, teaching her life's basics and cheering her connected astatine each creation show.

Reminiscing astir a cherished memory, Jess said: "I person herb ketchup with astir each repast and she’d marque truthful overmuch amusive of maine that she’d bargain the biggest vessel she could find."

Jess would often walk her days with Jean, engaging successful lengthy discussions astir the world, adjacent opting to sojourn her alternatively of hanging retired with friends. However, successful 2017, Jean was diagnosed with vascular dementia — a communal signifier of dementia caused by reduced humor travel to the encephalon — and Alzheimer’s disease.

The Alzheimer’s Society, a foundation organisation, states that vascular dementia is the 2nd astir prevalent benignant of dementia aft Alzheimer's disease, with symptoms varying from idiosyncratic to person. Jess' household experienced a consciousness of alleviation upon receiving the diagnosis arsenic it provided immoderate answers, but they were uncertain astir what laic ahead.

Addressing the aboriginal informing signs, she said: "She was losing herself much and much each day, forgetting things and her regular and the layout of her home. It was specified a unusual happening for america each to experience, but she kept telling america astatine the beginning, ‘It feels similar my brain’s muddled up, it’s not moving today’."

Jean's symptoms began with forgetfulness and representation loss, yet starring to mobility issues. She present resides successful a attraction location wherever she receives round-the-clock support, with Jess praising the unit arsenic "incredible".

Jean is presently bedridden and connected an "end of beingness pathway", but Jess continues to sojourn regularly, striving to support her "brain busy".

As clip has passed, Jess said she and her household person "faced immoderate challenges with unfastened arms", allowing Jean and her diagnoses to "lead the way". However, Jess recounted 1 "heartbreaking" incidental past twelvemonth erstwhile Jean forgot her sanction and who she was wrong 24 hours of a visit.

"It conscionable broke my bosom and I thought, ‘How could you hide 27 years of the beingness that we spent together? ’ It was conscionable each gone," Jess expressed.

From that point, Jess decided to compile a video of her cherished memories and stock it connected her TikTok relationship @little_jessx. The clips, featuring visits to her nan, singing to her, and casual chats, person since earned Jess implicit 450,000 followers, with 1 video racking up an awesome 23.8 cardinal views.

In this viral video, Jess shares heart-wrenching moments of Jean struggling to recognise her, a world that Jess admits "hits similar a tonne of bricks each azygous time".

"I honestly didn’t expect the archetypal video to resonate with radical the mode that it did, and truthful galore radical connected with it successful specified a antithetic way," she confessed.

She was struck by however her video touched those connected their ain dementia journey, arsenic good arsenic those unfamiliar with the condition, prompting her to proceed sharing these poignant moments. Since then, Jess has recovered TikTok to beryllium a "safe space" for sharing experiences of dementia, and she's discovered a resilience she ne'er knew she possessed.