He was getting by, managing. He was. Only last month he made it to the shop and back without falling. And he doesn’t want to use a bloody stick all the time. It’s a slippery slope using a stick, he says. Zimmers and wheelchairs next. And then care homes. And he doesn’t want to go into a bloody care home.

It was a freak accident. He just slipped. It was unlucky that he landed on his hip. That’s all. Just a bit of bad luck. And who could have predicted what it would lead to. Three weeks in this hospital already. Two more falls. The noro virus. And that bloody brain scan. There’s no hiding from the dementia anymore. It is there on the scan for all to see. And what he wants to know now is, how on earth does he get out of this one?