Hi everyone, you might be unaware of what my family has gone through in 2021. I'm not the best at sharing these sorts of things, but it was the worst year of my life and I'll let this fundraiser explain everything. I'd appreciate if you read my family's story and give a donation if you can!

I’m raising money for ‘Hundred Families’, this is a charity that helped my family after the distressing period following the murder of my 93-year-old Grandmother Eileen Dean. The charity helped put my mum in contact with a good lawyer and has been very supportive to my family. They do great work in assisting the families of murder victims and I can’t think of a better charity to raise some money for.

The Situation:

For as long as I can remember my Nan suffered with dementia
and struggled to look after herself. As a result, my mum stepped up and was my Nan’s primary care giver for over ten years, she went round every other day to cook, clean and to look after my Nan. This was on top of working a full-time job and as well as having the responsibilities of childcare.

My nan’s condition rapidly deteriorated due to her Dementia and it got to the point where she would leave kitchen appliances on overnight and put herself in dangerous situations. This left my family with the only option of putting nan in a care home. Mum was initially against the idea of putting Nan in a home, however caring for my nan had become an insurmountable task on top of her work as she needed fulltime supervision.

After much deliberation and research, we found Fieldside care
home, which from the outside looked like a well-reviewed, safe and non-violent care home for elderly dementia sufferers aged 65 and over. Nan moved in and thrived, if you knew my Nan you’d know that she knew how to have a laugh, how to party and she was making waves in the care home. I like to think I take after her in that regard! She enjoyed 2020’s Christmas and Fieldside seemed to be perfect for her.

Unfortunately, the home had an outbreak of COVID around Christmas
time and because of that a 63-year-old violent man from an entirely different institution, also suffering from COVID, was moved into Fieldside for convenience. He was placed in the room opposite my Nan's. Clearly those responsible for this movement of people had a massive lapse in judgement and their neglectful oversight cost my Nan her life.

Around midnight on the 4^th of January 2021 my beautiful Nan, Eileen, suffered a vicious attack by this man. I won’t go into details, but it was horrific and it cost her life. It tore my family to the core and the grief we carry is not something that will ever go away.

For the last year I’ve felt like a bystander in everything regarding my family’s situation. Although I have stayed informed on the court hearings, the delays, and the news articles- I have felt like I’ve contributed nothing to the situation. I’m making a change now. I want to do something to honour the memory of my Nan- I want her to be remembered as the great grandmother that she was, the wonderful woman who put up with me tossing LEGO bricks around her house, who let me bash pots and pans around as loud as I wanted to, the
cheeky lady that sneakily fed our staffie under the table every Sunday roast, despite my parents telling her not to. I don’t want my Grandmother’s memory to be tainted by the acts of an evil, deranged man. I’m doing the Tough Mudder 10k to honour her and to remind people that her memory is not defined by her murder. Her smile shined the brightest and I'll never forget her laugh. 

All the proceeds of this fundraiser are going to Hundred Families, where they will use the money to help the families of murder victims.

I appreciate any donations no matter how small. Here's a link to the BBC news articles on the story if you want to know more. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59053668

https://news.sky.com/story/grandmother-eileen-dean-93-beaten-to-death-with-metal-walking-stick-by-fellow-care-home-resident-12460055 

Kind Regards

Aaron Hampshaw