When we returned to the dining table, Sam explained more about the test – a series of verbal questions before moving onto the pen and paper test.

He asked her what day of the week it was, what date, what year and I realised I’d been holding my breath while she answered each question quickly and, thankfully, accurately. After the incident with our old house, I’d half-expected her to give a date of a decade earlier.

He gave her the name of a man and the first line of his address, asked her a couple more questions, then asked her to tell him the name of the man and his address. She reeled the information off without hesitation.

He asked her to spell the word ‘world’ backwards, which she did quicker than I managed in my head. He then asked her to count backwards from one hundred in sevens. We laughed when Mum admitted that her seven times table had been her nemesis at school and why couldn’t he have asked her for her fives. But she did it.

When they moved onto the pen and paper test, Sam handed me a copy of the questions so I could see what Mum was going to answer. It contained more questions along the lines of what he’d already asked, plus some shapes for her to copy. It didn’t take long before she handed the completed test back to Sam.

‘Do I get my degree now?’ she asked.

He smiled. ‘I can print you a fake one off the internet if you like. Give me a couple of minutes to look at this.’

I squeezed Mum’s hand again.

A few minutes later, Sam nodded and put the test aside. ‘Dr Steadman definitely didn’t do any of these tests with you?’ he asked.

She shook her head. ‘No. Nothing like that.’

‘I can’t understand why he didn’t do this. Sometimes it’s helpful to do tests like this to point towards a diagnosis around memory problems, such as dementia, but it can be equally helpful to do them to rule out something like dementia. In your case, Julie, I have a really clear diagnosis…’

I nibbled on my thumbnail as I waited. Please don’t say dementia. Please don’t.

‘From our conversation this evening and from these tests, it’s my professional opinion that you do not have dementia.’

‘Not?’ I asked, feeling weak with relief.

‘Not.’

‘Well, that’s a relief,’ Mum said.

‘You’re sure? I don’t mean to doubt you, but…’

‘I’m sure. If Julie had dementia, she wouldn’t have got a near enough perfect score on the tests.’

‘But there’ve been some pretty major incidents,’ I said. ‘Particularly the turning up at the wrong address.’

Mum nodded. ‘She’s right. If it’s not dementia, what is it as that’s not normal behaviour?’