He was forgetting things far more than she was.
She said it would do no harm to at least discuss it with the doctor. Between them they had looked up the early signs of dementia. There were so many of them, but they worked their way through the list. After discounting a number of symptoms they made a note of what applied to him. Of course, there was the memory loss. This was the obvious one, along with occasionally not being able to come up with simple words, sometimes finding it hard to concentrate, now and again having difficulty simply doing everyday tasks, and at times just losing track of time and place. These were only vague signs, but they were still worrying. Having done this, he reluctantly agreed to make an appointment.
He chats with the doctor who suggests he gives him an assessment. He tells the doctor what date it is, recalls a couple recent news items, does some simple mathematics, names several objects, draws a clock showing a specified time, identifies a giraffe, remembers a set of words, and recites a group of numbers backwards.
His doctor is happy with his responses. He feels pretty pleased with himself as he leaves the surgery.
On the way home he pulls over, takes out the old map book and opens it. He shuts it again. That won’t help…
He can’t remember his address!