Australian Story: Forget Me Not - Jim Rogers

Jim Rogers thought Alzheimer's was an old-person's disease … until he was diagnosed at the age of 55, becoming one of 29,000 Australians living with younger-onset dementia.

A larger-than-life character with the gift of the gab, Jim was never going to take his diagnosis quietly. He teamed up with broadcaster Hamish Macdonald for the podcast Hold the Moment, spreading the message that while dementia is terminal and incurable, you can slow its progress and make the most of time left.

"You can live well with dementia," Jim tells Australian Story. "You've just got to adapt to it."

Now he's being hailed as the "pin-up boy" for dementia.

"Dementia has just been viewed as a death sentence," says Hamish Macdonald. "You get old, you lose your marbles and then you die. That's why I think Jim's contribution is so critical. He's starting this conversation in a way that I think we haven't really had before."

Jim has always lived life boldly.

He migrated to Australia with his wife Lorna and three young children in the 1990s but three years later, Lorna developed melanoma and was dead within months. Bringing up the children on his own kept Jim busy so he wasn't looking for another partner when he took a much-needed holiday. Then he met Tyler and fell in love.

"I started to think, this is ridiculous," recalls Jim. "Like this is a man for a start. I've got kids. I just can't do this."

But the connection they both felt was too strong and they are still together, 25 years later.

Since his diagnosis three years ago, Jim has had to give up his driver's licence and a job he loved. Initially he sunk into depression but eventually he decided to make the most of the time he has left. He now devotes himself to challenging the stigma that surrounds dementia.

"Jim is someone with a lot to give," says Hamish Macdonald, "and my sense is he knows there's a limit to how long he can continue to give to others but while he can, he's doing it as much as he possibly can."