05/27/2026
“When she had a day where things weren’t going so well, I’d think – oh, her vertigo is acting up,” says John Smith, whose wife Rae is living with dementia.
Rae was first diagnosed with vertigo in 1999. That ongoing health challenge made a diagnosis of dementia in 2018 that much more surprising. What started as a routine visit to their GP for Rae’s vertigo led to a referral to a gerontologist and then the local emergency room, where the possibility of a dementia diagnosis was first raised.
“Although I suspected something like this, I cried,” says John. “This was something I could not handle alone.”
The next day, he reached out for support, calling the Alzheimer Society of BC and Yukon’s First Link® Dementia Helpline. John will be honoured at the Vancouver IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s on Sunday, May 31. To read his story and register at a Walk near you, visit WalkForAlzheimers.ca.
