Mert Meehan shared her experience on Facebook on June 29, 2025, praising a Bunning’s Echuca employee who assisted her husband, Patrick, who lives with frontotemporal dementia.
While Mrs Meehan was making a purchase, the employee noticed Patrick wearing his Sunflower Lanyard and offered to hold his hand to stop him wandering off.
“A lovely lady in Bunnings could see that he was trying to pull away from me at the desk, because he likes to wander,” Mrs Meehan said.
“She just said to him, ‘Here, hold my hand.’
“She had obviously read his hidden disability lanyard and was just wonderful.”
Mr Meehan’s journey with dementia began after a serious fall from his mother’s roof in June 2021, which required reconstructive surgery on his foot.
Following the accident, Mrs Meehan noticed cognitive changes in his behaviour.
“He would do things like put his sunglasses on in the middle of a shop, if the lights were too bright, or make me a cup of coffee and forget it on the bench,” she said.
After numerous medical consultations and tests spanning nearly a year, Mr Meehan was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in April 2022 at the age of 56.
Frontotemporal dementia is relatively rare compared to Alzheimer’s, and an aggressive form of dementia.
“There are lots and lots of different types of dementia, but the frontotemporal dementia affects the planning and processing of his brain, so it tells him what to do and not what to do every day,” Mrs Meehan said.
Now 59, Mr Meehan requires 24/7 care and assistance with all daily tasks, is not allowed to be on his own and will always have a carer with him.
The couple uses the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Lanyard to inform others about Mr Meehan’s condition.
The program helps identify people with non-visible conditions who may need additional support or understanding in public spaces.
“Patrick looks normal, but his brain is broken,” Mrs Meehan said.
“I think people should be aware of what the sunflower lanyard means, and just that not all disabilities are seen.
“There are a lot of hidden disabilities around.”
“I think the lanyard has helped make people more understanding and more tolerant of Pat’s behaviours.”
Information about how to use the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program and the sunflower lanyard can be found at hdsunflower.com/au
