Wendy Mitchell: Acclaimed writer who detailed expertise of dementia proclaims her personal loss of life

A best-selling writer who detailed her expertise with dementia has introduced her personal loss of life in a posthumous weblog submit.

Wendy Mitchell, 68, authored acclaimed books on her situation after she was identified with early-onset vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s in July 2014, on the age of 58.

“If you’re reading this, it means this has probably been posted by my daughters as I’ve sadly died,” she wrote in her last weblog submit.

“Sorry to break the news to you this way, but if I hadn’t, my inbox would eventually have been full of emails asking if I’m OK, which would have been hard for my daughters to answer…

“In the tip, I died just by deciding to not eat or drink anymore.”

At the time of her diagnosis, Ms Mitchell, from East Yorkshire, was working as an NHS rota manager, having also brought up two daughters as a single mother.

She began to become concerned about her health when her “encyclopaedic reminiscence” began to fail her.

“I’d overlook the best of phrases, or the names of individuals I’d labored with ceaselessly,” she told the charity Dementia UK in a 2019 interview.

Ms Mitchell said at one point before her diagnosis she turned around to see her name at the entrance to her office and forgot it was hers.

She also was a keen runner who would regularly go jogging beside the River Ouse.

“Things simply weren’t proper, after which after I was out operating, my legs and my mind weren’t speaking to at least one one other and I’d find yourself falling flat on my face,” she said.

“I knew that one thing wasn’t proper.”

After 18 months of checks and scans, Ms Mitchell was given her analysis, one thing she revealed in her books pushed her right into a “deep depression”.

She discovered an outlet in writing, beginning the weblog What Me and I Today? in addition to penning her journey in a deeply private 2018 memoir named Somebody I Used To Know, which turned a Sunday Times best-seller.

Ms Mitchell additionally wrote the acclaimed 2022 guide, What I Wish I Knew About Dementia, whereas the paperback version of her third guide, One Last Thing: Living With The End In Mind, is because of be printed subsequent week.

She additionally turned a vocal advocate for assisted dying, which is illegitimate within the UK, however permitted in international locations comparable to Switzerland and The Netherlands.

“If assisted dying was available in this country, I would have chosen it in a heartbeat, but it isn’t,” she mentioned in her last weblog submit.

“I didn’t want dementia to take me into the later stages; that stage where I’m reliant on others for my daily needs; others deciding for me when I shower or maybe insisting I had a bath, which I hate; or when and what I eat and drink.

“Yes, I could also be pleased, however that is irrelevant. The Wendy that was did not wish to be the Wendy dementia will dictate for me. I would not need my daughters to see the Wendy I’d turn out to be both.”

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She said in the post that she had opted for an assisted dying process in Switzerland but felt unable to travel after a fall in which she broke both her wrists.

“In the tip, after my accident, the one alternative open to me was to cease consuming and consuming,” she said.

She added: “Adapting to this life with dementia is over, however I do not contemplate dementia has gained, as that might be unfavourable and also you all know I’m a constructive particular person.

“It’s ME calling time on MY dementia – checkmate, before IT plays its final move.”

In a submit on X, her daughters, Sarah and Gemma, mentioned: “Our mum died peacefully early this morning. She wrote a blog post before she died, so you can read about it from her perspective.”

Paying tribute to Ms Mitchell, Paul Edwards, director of scientific providers at Dementia UK, mentioned everybody on the charity was “deeply saddened” by the information of her loss of life.

“A tireless campaigner, Wendy’s writing and work helped many people understand what it is like to live with dementia, as well as giving a powerful voice to those living with the condition,” he mentioned.

“Wendy spoke candidly about how her dementia affected her, and her efforts will leave a lasting impact in the way we understand dementia and approach dementia care.

“Her contributions to our Lived Experience Advisory Panel helped to make sure the specialist dementia care we provide displays the wants of individuals going through dementia.

“Our thoughts are with Wendy’s family and we send our deepest condolences at this difficult time.”