Brothers in their 20s told they have just 15 years to live after being diagnosed with rare form of dementia

Wednesday, October 02, 2024 - Two brothers in their 20s have been told they have 15 good years left of life.

Jordan and Cian Adams, aged 28 and 23 from Worcestershire, UK, have Frontotemporal Dementia, (FTD) a rare type of dementia caused by damage to the nerve cells at the front of the brain.

The disease affects people under the age of 65 but their symptoms are likely to become evident in their early 40s meaning patients with the disease could lose their lives within ten years of diagnosis. Also, the disease has no cure.

Their mother Geraldine also died from the same condition at the age of just 52 in 2016 and she could not speak or move unaided and did not recognise her children by the time she died.

Jordan speaking to Mailplus said;

“Our lives may be shorter than most but this has made us both determined to make the most of the time we have.

‘We want to do everything we can to live a meaningful life, to raise awareness and funds [to fight] this horrible disease.’

His younger brother Clan said: ‘A million times over I wish this had never, ever happened, that we’d never had to deal with this.

‘It’s horrible and I wish it wasn’t the case but it has given us meaning and a chance to make a difference in the world.’

The brothers say they have made up their mind to make a difference by running round the UK to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

They have raised £150,000 and hope to raise £1million.

Cian said: ‘Every day we think, Not again! But it’s just not an option to stop. There’s a really good reason why we’re doing this and that’s what keeps us going.’

They are doing all of this in memory of their mum too and Cian said: ‘She’d cook a big chilli con carne and we’d have all our cousins round on a mid-week night after school.

‘She used to love her R&B music, too. She’d quite frequently have it blasting in the car when we’d be on the way to school.’

According to their doctor, Jordan and Cian’s sister, Kennedy did not inherit the condition

Cian said it was as bad for Kennedy as it was for them, knowing she would lose them to dementia

The brothers older sister Kennedy did not inherit FTD despite her two younger brothers developing it.