A woman diagnosed with depression which turned out to be Alzheimer's in her 50s was given a day of "freedom" before her children told her about her diagnosis.<br /><br />Linda Sutherland, 68, was diagnosed weeks before her 60th birthday, after suffering from a short temper, weight loss and memory loss.<br /><br />After the death of her husband Ronnie, aged 66, the changes were blamed on depression.<br /><br />But son Graeme Sutherland, 31, thought something else was behind it. <br /><br />He first noticed something was wrong when he took her to the Harry Potter Studios for her birthday and she got very upset when she couldn't take a photo.<br /><br />After the trip, he took his mother to the doctors, and she was diagnosed with a progressive stage of Alzheimer’s.<br /><br />Graeme and sister Kirstin, 31, a nurse, were devastated, confused, and unsure what to do next.<br /><br />Kirstin gave their mum one last day of "freedom" before they told her about her diagnosis.<br /><br />Graeme, a claims manager from Glasgow, Scotland said: "My mum had been receiving counselling for depression but nothing was getting better - it was getting worse.<br /><br />"It was a shock when we were told she had Alzheimer's, especially after we got told she hadn't got it to begin with."<br /><br />On the family trip to London in 2016, he noticed his mother spraying deodorant in her shoes, wearing unclean clothes, and she could not understand how to press a button when on a trip to the Harry Potter Studios. <br /><br />"I think my mum knew. She was upset about it but straight away very cooperative and helped us see what support is out there.<br /><br />"The way my mum reacted she knew something wasn't right - this was the final confirmation."<br /><br />Graeme and his sister, started taking turns caring for their mum, with one of them being by her side 24 hours a day.<br /><br />He said: "It was very challenging. It made us grow up very quickly.<br /><br />"It has made me realise that life is way too short. it has drained me and my sister quite a bit both physically and mentally.<br /><br />"We were in our early 20s at the time. We lost a large sum of our life but I wouldn't change it for the world."<br /><br />Linda has been in a care home for around a year.<br /><br />Graeme said is was "selfish" to keep their mum at home for so long.<br /><br />Graeme said: "It is difficult to watch someone so ill every time you visit - it is the long goodbye.<br /><br />"She is now losing her speech. She speaks like the characters from the Sims game - making words and noises that don't make sense."<br /><br />Graeme said it isn't all "doom and gloom" and that his mum is living life "blissfully unaware" of what is going on.<br /><br />He said: "We do have good times.<br /><br />"She is getting worse but she is very happy - she just sits and watches TV, sings away and gets involved with activities."<br /><br />He said: "Alzheimer's always falls under the radar as an old persons disease but it is really common now.<br /><br />"It is getting younger and younger with Bruce Willis being diagnosed it is coming into the mainstream.<br /><br />"Sadly, it is just something that not many people know about, I want to educate people on the different stages."
