It has been eight years since Dilys and Colin Brown's lives were dramatically altered.

Mr Brown had just made his wife a cup of coffee when, without warning, he went into cardiac arrest.

They later learned he had had a stroke at the same time, which led to vascular dementia.

"I can remember things that happened years ago like it was yesterday. But something that happened last week, I am likely to forget,"

Mr Brown said.

Mr Brown is one of the more than 6,000 people in the ACT who are currently living with dementia — that figure is projected to double by 2054.

In the years since his diagnosis, Mrs Brown said her husband of 65 years had become her "shadow".

"We look after each other the best we can after all these years we have been together," Mrs Brown said.

"It's a struggle. It's h

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