The Sequin Star Read Online Free

like a muddled stranger? It’s not fair.
    Claire took a deep breath to steady herself. ‘Bye, Nanna. I hope you feel better soon.’
    Her grandmother looked at her strangely. ‘I’m not Nanna – I’m Vivien Blake – no, Vivien Hunter.’
    Mum hugged Claire close and led her out of the room. ‘She’s just a little confused,’ Mum gabbled, trying to reassure them both. ‘She’ll be better soon.’
    Claire felt a knot of anxiety in her stomach. It was so unlike Nanna. She’d always been so articulate, so elegant. What if she didn’t get better?
    Memories crowded in from when she was younger, lovely recollections of cooking with her grandmother, snuggling up reading books, watching their favourite TV series together. Her grandparents had often looked after her, after school, on the days that Mum worked.
    She stuffed her hands in her pockets and felt a sharp prick in her finger. Then she remembered the shabby star brooch she had found among her grandfather’s things. A wave of guilt washed over her. She shouldn’t have taken it. Well, she didn’t mean to. She’d hid it almost by reflex.
    As Claire and her mother were leaving the hospital ward, a doctor walked towards them wearing a white coat and carrying a clipboard. She referred to her notes then looked up, smiling at them.
    â€˜Hello. Are you Mrs Stanton?’ she asked Claire’s mother, who nodded. ‘I’m Doctor Costa. I was one of the doctors who examined your mother when she first arrived.’
    â€˜Do you think she’ll be all right, Dr Costa?’ asked Mum. ‘She’s very muddled and . . . a little forgetful.’
    A little forgetful , thought Claire. She doesn’t remember her own daughter!
    The doctor smiled reassuringly. ‘Your mother sustained a concussion and is suffering memory loss,’ confirmed Doctor Costa. ‘This is not unusual with people her age.’
    Claire’s mother took her hand and squeezed it tightly.
    â€˜Have you noticed her having any problems with memory recall lately?’ asked Dr Costa. ‘Or any other signs of behavioural changes?’
    â€˜No, I don’t think so, but then again I seem to have problems remembering things myself,’ joked Mum.
    The doctor laughed. ‘That’s just being busy and tired.’
    Mum nodded with a wry smile. ‘Tell me about it.’
    â€˜With your mother, the confusion could also be caused by any one of several health issues, such as infection, illness or hormone deficiencies, so we will need to run a series of tests,’ Doctor Costa explained. ‘She also seems fairly weak, so she may have been forgetting to eat properly.’
    The doctor checked her notes then looked seriously at them both.
    â€˜I have to warn you that her symptoms could also be caused by various types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease,’ Dr Costa explained. ‘Alzheimer’s is very common in people over the age of eighty-five.’
    Please, not Alzheimer’s disease , thought Claire. She remembered seeing a program on Alzheimer’s disease, which explained that as the brain cells died it caused increased memory loss and dramatic changes in behaviour.
    â€˜When will we know?’ asked Mum. ‘Will she be in hospital long? When can we take her home?’
    The doctor frowned. ‘We will keep her in hospital for a few days while we run the tests and build up her strength. Her records show that, until now, she has been in excellent health for her age.’ She referred back to her notes. ‘I believe she has been living by herself in a retirement unit.’
    â€˜Yes,’ said Mum. ‘She’s usually very fit and independent. She does have a housekeeper who comes in to help her for a few hours.’
    â€˜Well, we’ll see how she goes, but you and your family might need to think about how you are going to care for her when