RESPECT A 24-year-old living with dementia has ʈɾagically diєd over Christmas — leaving behind a grieving family who made an extraordinary decision. In the midst of unimaginable pain, they chose to donate his brain to science, hoping his life — and death — could help unlock a cure for others. A short life. A powerful legacy.
The family of a 24-year-old dementia sufferer who died just after Christmas have donated his brain to science in the hope that it can help researchers.
Andre Yarham had started becoming forgetful or acting inappropriately when he was diagnosed with early-onset dementia a month before his 23rd birthday.
His cognitive abilities declined rapidly and he died on December 27 after catching an infection which was exacerbated by the weakened immune system caused by his condition.
Andre’s mother, Sam Fairbairn, told the Daily Mail: ‘Unfortunately he wasn’t able to make the decision [about donating his brain] because the disease had taken his voice and his mind quite early on.
‘But Andre being the person he was, if he could help he would have said yes.’
She added: ‘Early-onset dementia is something you hear about more and more now. It’s not just something you associate with people who are in their 50s or 60s.
‘What we’re hoping is even if it’s not a cure but that it leads to some sort of treatment that can prolong someone’s life and give them a few more years with a loved one that would be just amazing.’
Ms Fairnbairn’s concerns about her once ‘chatty’ son began when he became forgetful and started giving three-word answers to questions or having a blank look on his face when spoken to.
Andre Yarham, 24, pictured with his mother Sam Fairbairn, 49, died on December 27, around two years after he was diagnosed with early-onset dementia
Andre’s family hope donating his brain to researchers will help towards unlocking a cure or treatment to slow the disease’s progression in victims
An MRI in October 2023 revealed atrophy of the frontal lobe, which causes the part of the brain to shrink. A consultant compared the scan to ‘looking at the brain of a 70-year-old’.
It was later confirmed that Andre, a wrestling and Xbox fan who gave up his job at a car manufacturer as his condition deteriorated, had frontotemporal dementia (FTD) caused by a protein mutation.
The rare form of the disease affects about one in 20 sufferers.
Ms Fairbairn, 49, of Dereham, Norfolk, quit her career as a coach driver to look after her son full-time, dedicating her days to helping him dress, bathe him and eat.
She and her husband Alastair, 62, who she married in 2022, also ticked off items on a bucket list including visiting Shrek’s Adventure! London and live wrestling in Nottingham.
But by September last year Andre had to be moved into a care home as his mobility declined rapidly and he started having falls.
‘He walked in, albeit very slowly, and after a month he was using a wheelchair and being hoisted into it,’ Ms Fairbairn said.
‘Then at the beginning of December he got an infection and he was taken to hospital and was put on end-of-life care. He stopped eating and drinking.’
Ms Fairbairn was with her son in a hospice to help him open his presents on his last Christmas
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Andre died at the Priscilla Bacon Lodge hospice in Norwich but Ms Fairbairn said she took comfort from the fact he retained his jovial personality to the end.
‘The nurses and health care workers would come in to change him and you’d hear a “Whoo”, which was his happy noise, because they’d said something funny to him,’ she explained.
About 50,000 people in England are believed to be living with early-onset dementia, when tell-tale symptoms begin before the age of 65.
Fewer than two-thirds have been diagnosed, however, suggesting tens of thousands are unaware they have the illness.
The Daily Mail has started a Defeating Dementia campaign, in association with the Alzheimer’s Society, with the aim of improving awareness of the disease, increasing early diagnosis, boosting research and improving care.
Ms Fairbairn, whose other son Tyler, 23, has so far pointedly avoided having tests to see if has the same genetic condition as his older brother, backed the campaign, saying: ‘I’m all for any research and better awareness. People need to know how devastating this disease is.
‘It’s the cruellest disease because there’s no treatment. There’s nothing to help with the symptoms and you watch, and you grieve, and you lose that person time and time again.
Pictured aged 17 with his mother, Andre was a ‘chatty’ individual before he was struck down with the debilitating disease
Andre, right, and younger brother Tyler, now 23, at their mother’s wedding to his stepfather Alastair, 62, in November 2022
‘It’s just heartbreaking to see that person – and that person doesn’t even realise what’s happening to them most of the time.
‘With cancer there’s chemotherapy and radiotherapy. People can have treatment and go into remission and can live a very fruitful, long life. With dementia, there’s nothing.’
Andre’s brain was donated to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge for research. His funeral will take place at Breckland Crematorium in Norfolk on January 27.
Dr Richard Oakley, Associate Director of Research and Innovation at Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘To better understand all forms of dementia, not just rarer forms like FTD, we urgently need to see more investment and participation in dementia research.
‘Investment will give us the power to run bigger, more inclusive research trials that will reach more people than ever before.
‘With increased participation we’ll be able to see more clearly the underlying causes of the disease that cause dementia, develop new treatments, and find better diagnostic tools.’