'I started mixing up words at 29. Then a brain scan confirmed my worst fear.'

Earlier this year, when Erin Kelly started forgetting simple words at home and at work, she knew something wasn't right.

The 29-year-old single mum — who works full-time in administration while raising her eight-year-old daughter Evie — had her suspicions about what was causing it.

She had seen the same disease claim the lives of her mum, her aunt, and her grandfather.

"I had noticed I was mixing up words, forgetting words, and just mushing words together," Erin told Mamamia.

"And this is something I don't normally do. I decided I would get a test done to see whether effects on my brain had started."

Erin is a single mother to 8-year-old Evie.

In 2024, Erin discovered she carried a rare genetic mutation, PSEN1, which guarantees early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

The young mum was already on high alert for any cognitive symptoms, because in total, seven of Erin's relatives have died from the illness.

"I will be the eighth," Erin explained. "I knew I was going to get it at some point. We knew it was going to happen sometime, and we knew it would be early onset, but we weren't sure when.

"(The gene) guarantees early onset, so before the age of 65. Generally dying around the same age as previous family members, but (it) could be earlier, could be later. Mine seems to be a little bit earlier than when my mum, and her sister and my grandfather… started to get symptoms."

When Erin noticed the word mix-ups — a symptom that may have seemed innocuous to many — she rushed to a doctor for more tests.

In July 2025, her worst fears were confirmed.

"There was a lot of denial," Erin said. "I'm still processing it … I knew it would be coming, but I still didn't think it would be this early.

"I had pictures of the scans and I kept going back and reviewing them, thinking the doctor had made a mistake, and comparing them to 'Alzheimer's brains' on Google to make sure they were definitely correct. After that, it was quite overwhelming. I hadn't really told many people.

"Of course, I have my daughter as well, who I have to try to navigate how I'm going to tell her, when I'm going to tell her, what I'm going to tell her."

The mum-of-one is grateful for the fact she found out earlier than her relatives, as it allows her to try and fight for more time for both her and Evie.

Erin's mother Robyne also had early-onset Alzheimer's.

"It gives me the opportunity to look for research and put my name out there. I've told my doctor to give my name to anyone, where if anything comes up, to give me a call. I will do clinical trials, I will do whatever I can to try and find something to help people like me," she said.

"It's quite overwhelming, but it also pushes me to want to do something about it. Everyone else when they found out, they were too far into the disease to really push for anything.

"I want to be able to make a change — not just for myself, but for my family, my daughter, anyone else who may be in a similar situation."

Erin watched her mother succumb to the same illness, and she now finds herself in the unique position of being a mother — and child — who has navigated this illness.

Her mother was diagnosed when Erin was 14, and died when she was 17.

LISTEN: Keri Kitay lost her mother to early-onset Alzheimer's. This is her story. Post continues below.

"We had noticed things beforehand, and we just thought there was something wrong with her, like she would drive up the wrong driveways on the way home from school," Erin said. "We were kids; we didn't understand what was happening. It was very eye-opening, it made myself and my brothers grow up a lot quicker than most teenagers would have.

"It was very full on. Instead of our mum caring for us, we became carers of our mum.

"The gene mutation is known to, the disease goes quicker than those with general early-onset Alzheimer's," Erin added. "There's definitely more research needed."

Learning from her own experiences as a child, Erin said honesty is the best approach to parenting her daughter as she navigates the disease. Honesty, and making as many memories as possible together.

Erin is now fighting for more time for her daughter and herself. Image: Supplied.

"I'm definitely making sure we have at least an hour a day, just her and I doing something. It could be the smallest things, like playing a board game, or going for a bike ride, or drawing," Erin said.

"Just something that when she's older she can look back on and remember every day we did something together, or every afternoon mum and I spent an hour together. We can do holidays and all that, but I think the day-to-day is just as important.

"I'm going to leave a lot of memories behind. I'm going to write letters to her. Just day-to-day if we've gone to Dreamworld or something, I'll have a photo with a little blurb, because my dad worked when we were kids. So, a lot of our stories, mum had all the information."

Currently, Erin's day-to-day hasn't changed too much. She is still able to work, drive and live relatively normally.

" At the moment, I don't have a lot of symptoms. My doctor said I've been quite proactive. If you didn't know me, you probably wouldn't know that they (the symptoms) were unusual for me. A lot of people forget things and I think people put it off to that," she said.

"The only difference is trying to fund appointments."

Erin is also focused on growing awareness about early-onset Alzheimer's, and the fact it doesn't discriminate based on age.

"Many people that have found out have questioned me, saying, 'Are you sure?' And lots of people say they understand because their 90-year-old grandfather has Alzheimer's.

"I want people to understand it is different when you're so much younger. There's a lot more things involved; you've got small children, being able to have a partner — all of the things have changed."

A crowdfunding page has been established for Erin. You can donate here.

Feature image: Supplied.