The son of legendary racing driver Sir Jackie Stewart has said it was ‘horrible’ to see his mother ‘no longer the person’ he knew due to dementia.
According to BBC, Mark Stewart said his mother, Lady Stewart, “got progressively worse over time” due to the condition she has had for the past 12 years.
It comes as the family’s charity, Race Against Dementia, launched a world-first clinical trial with the University of Oxford to help stop the condition developing.
“One thing we should have left behind is our memory, and our ability to remember our lives and the achievements and all the things you did together,” Mark said.
He went on to say: “These moments are erased, they are no longer in their minds and you can no longer discuss them because that is dementia, and it is just terrible.”
Lady Stewart was diagnosed with dementia in 2014, with Sir Jackie previously telling the newspaper that it had led to “horrendous” behavioral and language changes, including forgetting who he was.
“She’s still quite cheerful at times, but very aggressive with others, and it’s no longer the person who was the matriarch of our family – it’s no longer that individual,” Mark explained.
Nearly a decade ago, legendary three-time Formula 1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart started the Race Against Dementia initiative to accelerate progress towards a world without the disease.
“I like that out-of-the-box thinking and that Formula 1 mentality – they are constantly looking at new ways of doing business,” said Mark, chairman of the charity’s trustees.
“That mentality is so incredibly important to what Race Against Dementia does – we’re not just looking for a cure, we’re looking for prevention,” concluded Sir Jackies Stewart’s son.
