He inherited the gene that causes Alzheimer's from his father: he is awaiting a disease that could begin at age 46.

Laura Sides's life in England was turned upside down when her father was diagnosed with early‑onset Alzheimer’s. While her father's health deteriorated rapidly after contracting the disease in his forties, Laura dropped out of university to take on his care.

Laura, who had a strong bond with her father, a general practitioner, witnessed the disease's progression up close. During this time, doctors told her that she had a 50 percent chance of carrying the same genetic mutation.

However, the young woman who was focused on caring for her father at that time postponed considering this possibility for her own future. Laura lost her father in 2009, a year after her mother's death. After the losses she endured, the woman went on a world tour and later settled in Melbourne, Australia.

A genetic test revealed the hardest truth of her life.

In 2013, Laura consulted a specialist to learn her genetic risk. Her doctors explained that the test could determine with 99.99 percent accuracy whether she carried the genetic mutation in question.

They also shared that if she carried the mutation, brain degeneration was expected to begin between ages 46 and 48.

Laura, who initially avoided getting tested in her thirties, decided to learn the truth. After six months of genetic counseling, she had a blood test and waited six weeks for the results.

Laura, who went to see the doctor alone, related her test results on BBC Radio 4's Life Changing program.

The woman who directly told her doctor she wanted to know the result conveyed the response with these words:

"I'm very sorry, it's not good news, and you've inherited a genetic condition."

Laura, who felt great shock upon learning the result, did not react for a while. The woman who gradually began to feel the weight of the truth struggled with anger and helplessness in the following days.

43 years old, she awaits a period when the illness might begin.

Today, 43‑year‑old Laura is three years away from the 46 years that doctors predict symptoms may appear.

Despite this, the woman who does not want to shape her life around the constant possibility of illness is trying to accept the uncertainty about the future.

Laura, describing the process she has gone through, says she once thought mental decline could begin, but that possibility does not keep her up at night.

The genetic test result also brought some challenges into her private life. Laura, noting that it is not easy to explain the genetic change she carries to people she meets, says that the fact that those who know her situation continue to love and accept her gives her hope.

She gave up the dream of becoming a mother.

One of the toughest decisions Laura has made in her life also concerned the dream of having children.

The woman, who said she had always wanted to become a mother, reevaluated that decision after learning that she could pass the genetic mutation on to her children.

Laura, who said that having children was a big dream for her, said that giving up that wish was not easy, but she did not want to expose another person to the same risk.

She explained the thought behind her decision, saying: "It was one of the very few things I had no doubt I could do and wanted to do. Hard... but doing this is not logical. It wouldn't be fair."

The difficult process that began with her father's illness also changed Laura's decisions about her own future. The 43‑year‑old woman, who has learned to live knowing her genetic risk, is trying to keep going with her life instead of spending the time ahead in the shadow of the illness.