The slippery slide

Don Cheeseman is a retired lecturer and engineer living in Whitehorse. He’s had an adventurous and fulfilling career, including work with BBC Television that earned him recognition as one of the “100 Voices that Made the BBC.” When he started to notice cognitive changes, he felt a significant loss, having made a living through teaching, consulting and storytelling.

Through the Lived Experience Partner Program, Don contributed his talents to a lived experience storytelling project, sharing writing that is direct, vulnerable and deeply honest. His short story, The Slippery Slide, gives readers a personal view of how dementia can affect confidence, communication and daily life. Don shares his writing to help others facing similar changes feel less alone and deepen our understanding of what it is like to live with dementia.

Don’s story begins: “For the last three years, I have been tumbling, stumbling, bumbling down an ever-increasing slippery slide.” He goes on to describe “steadily losing some ability to: control my anger, maintain patience with myself and others, analyze facts promptly, learn new things, make sound decisions and have fading confidence in understanding the spoken word.”

He shares how these changes have affected his connection with daily life and community: “My overall lack of confidence has the effect of my choosing to spend a lot more time alone, as I am far less likely to be involved in communication or action that I am confused about. I resist going to public places, like shopping, restaurants, clubs and night school courses, as they are noisy, and people will likely talk to me, and I may have to acknowledge something, but I will not know what to say.”