10/27/2026
After losing her mother to young-onset Alzheimer’s, Hannah Gardner turned her grief into purpose, advocating for children and young people whose lives are affected by dementia.
Excerpts from Hannah Gardner's article in Being Patient online...
"I remember sitting at my mum’s bedside towards the end of her life. She was receiving end-of-life care, and I remember feeling profoundly alone. As I sat beside her, I reflected on everything that had happened since her diagnosis of young-onset Alzheimer’s disease and how profoundly dementia had changed our family. I had lost my mum in many ways before I physically lost her. At the same time, I was becoming a mum myself. I was navigating changing family roles, anticipatory grief, loss and the uncertainty of trying to understand what Mum knew and felt as her condition progressed.
Sitting beside her, I remember thinking: something positive has to come from Mum’s experience. That thought has stayed with me throughout my nursing career and has ultimately shaped my role as consultant admiral nurse for children and young people at Dementia UK."
"My experience as an admiral nurse has reinforced the importance of combining specialist clinical knowledge with emotional and practical support. Families often have to navigate complex changes in relationships, roles, communication, decision-making and care, alongside the uncertainty of living with a progressive condition. For children and young people, these experiences can be particularly significant because dementia is happening alongside their own development, education, friendships and changing identity."
"At the heart of my role is ensuring that children and young people are seen, heard and recognized as individuals in their own right. A young person may not be identified as a carer, yet dementia may still be having a profound impact on their emotional wellbeing, family relationships, education and sense of security. They may be experiencing anticipatory grief, uncertainty or isolation while continuing to navigate everyday childhood and adolescence. My role is therefore not simply about responding to identified needs. It is also about helping professionals recognize that need in the first place. Rather than asking only, “Who is the carer?,” we need to consider, “Who else in this family is being affected by dementia?”
To read the full article by Hannah Gardner for Being Patient, please click here https://buff.ly/WWbrH2z
