In 2016, 32-year-old Becky Barletta was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, a neurodegenerative disease that progressively alters certain areas of the brain. She is one of the youngest in the country to be diagnosed.
Until two more years ago, Becky Barletta had everything to be happy. This young blonde woman, a ski instructor, had met her future husband on the slopes of Verbier, Switzerland. Passionate about photography and life in the great outdoors, she got married in October 2015 and planned to buy a large house where she could start a family and receive her loved ones during the holidays.
But in 2016, Becky Barletta’s life was turned upside down. “He was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia,” his sister Sophie Gilbert told the magazine. People. “We have been told that his life expectancy is estimated to be between 5 and 10 years. Our world has collapsed.”
Youngest dementia case diagnosed in UK
The frontotemporal dementia from which Becky suffers is a neurodegenerative disease often confused with Alzheimer’s. Affecting both men and women, it usually occurs between the ages of 50 and 60 and is characterized by speech and behavior disorders, as well as intellectual deterioration. This condition, which is qualified as “dementia” from a certain threshold of severity, is due to the progressive deterioration of certain parts of the brain. It also reduces the life expectancy of people who have it, as is the case with Becky Berlatta.
According to her sister, her condition declined very quickly. According to her doctor, she is the youngest person to be diagnosed in the whole of the UK. She now lives with her parents and receives 24-hour care. Unable to eat or drink on her own, she can no longer speak either. Only walks are still possible for him, but his body continues to weaken.
In PeopleSophie Gilbert says the first signs of the disease appeared about 6 months before Becky’s wedding. His behavior, in particular, was no longer the same. “She started exercising obsessively. She went to the gym about three times a day and ran 10 miles (about 17 km). We thought it was because of the stress of the marriage and hoped. that it would be better when they got married and things calmed down. “
But her condition continued to worsen and to worry her family members, who find her changed, as if disconnected, as they all traveled together to Barbados. A week after her return, Becky was suspended from her job for inappropriate behavior.
According to her sister, Becky is not the only case of dementia listed in the family: their mother’s brother was also diagnosed when he was in his 50s. But Becky initially refuses to be tested, considering that she is far too young to be affected by this disease. “We really had to persuade her to go,” says her sister. “I said to her, ‘I want to go for the test. I want to know more about the hereditary side of the disease.’ Finally, she said she would come with me and we both went.”
A month later, the diagnosis falls: Becky suffers from frontotemporal dementia. “We had prepared for the news, but we were still devastated.”
A dramatic progression of the disease
Today, Becky is just a shadow of what she was before: a beautiful young woman with life ahead of her. “She doesn’t really speak anymore”, Sophie tells the DailyMail. Until a few months ago, she could still tell stories – always the same, but now “she’s just whispering things under her breath”.
“What is most shocking is the difference between what she is and what she should be,” her sister continues. “Because she was so lively, that’s the most horrible thing. She had just got married and it breaks my heart because she will never have children.”
“There is nothing behind her eyes. Just that empty gaze”, Sophie told last year to People. “You wonder what’s going on in her head. I just hope she’s happy in her own little world.”
Today, Becky’s family is fighting to raise awareness of frontotemporal dementia to the general public and “make people aware that it can strike anyone at any time. It can happen to 40, 50 years old and even in your thirties “. Last year, Sophie and her family organized fundraising on the Internet to help the Alzheimer Society, which funds research into dementia, 15,000 pounds were collected.
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