sportskeeda
FORMER Premier League striker Dean Windass has opened up about his journey after receiving a diagnosis of dementia.
The announcement regarding the 56-year-old’s condition was shared by former Manchester United player David May in January.
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With his permission, May revealed: “I spoke with Dean Windass yesterday, the former professional footballer. I asked him how he was doing.
“He has been diagnosed with Stage 2 dementia. He’s the same age as me and is very worried about what the future holds for him.”
Windass later expressed on X: “I just need to keep smiling and do my best to support others.”
Recently, the former striker discussed his dementia diagnosis openly for the first time.
During a live segment on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, he shared details about the moment he received his diagnosis.
He recalled, “They called to inform me they had the results. I asked, ‘Why can’t you tell me over the phone?’
“They preferred to do it via Zoom, which made me uneasy.
“Kerry (his fiancée) set up the laptop since I’m not too tech-savvy.
“They told me: this is your diagnosis, it’s mild, there’s nothing to worry about; it could take five to ten years for it to progress to later stages.
“It wasn’t the news I was hoping for. Naturally, I felt scared.”
Dean Windass dances and mimes along to a song in his car after the disclosure of his dementia diagnosis
“I do forget things, naturally. At 56, I forget names and other small details.
“I sometimes wonder if I might be overanalyzing things subconsciously.”
Kerry Kehoe, Windass’ fiancée, mentioned that she hadn’t noticed any significant changes in the former footballer before he went for testing and scans.
She added: “I hadn’t seen anything unusual prior to the scan, and we didn’t really think much of it.
“When we received the results, we just buried our heads in the sand, didn’t we?”
Windass agreed: “We managed to find some humor in it.
“I joked that it was a bad day, but a good day because they confirmed I had a brain! They found my brain! I was honestly happy!
“Kerry and I didn’t really talk about it together.”
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“When she inquires about it, I tell her I’m okay and coping.
“The reason I didn’t discuss this a year and a half ago is that my oldest son is a professional footballer, and my younger son has also played professionally.
I didn’t want my mother to worry, nor did I want my children to feel concerned.”
Windass made a name for himself in the Premier League with his cherished Hull City, along with time spent at Bradford and Middlesbrough.
He initially retired in 2009 but came back to the game twice afterward.
The ex-striker finally hung up his boots for good in 2012 after a stint with Scarborough Athletic.
In the conversation, Windass mentioned that he was initially reluctant to find out if he had dementia.
He shared, “John (Stiles, the former Leeds midfielder) suggested I get a scan about a year and a half ago, but I turned it down.
“I told him, ‘No, I’m not particularly keen on knowing,’ and he spoke about the number of former players who had passed away.
“He insisted, ‘It could help many people,’ so I agreed to be a sort of test case for this scanning machine.”
Windass added: “Many footballers shy away from it because they fear the results. I regret going for the scan now, but it’s in the past.
“In a way, it would have been better not to have known.”
