Story
Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
We are raising money for the Alzhiemer's Society because we lost our Grandmother to the terrible disease in February this year.
Our Grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2008, and sadly her condition deterrioted quickly. We had noticed that she was forgetting recent things but remembering things way back, she had problems with thinking, reasoning & confusion even in her own home. She started having mood swings, and trouble talking and soon after this she forgot who we all were, including my Grandfather who nursed her for as long as he possible could, caring for her in the home they had together for 10 years.
Unfortunately as a family we live all over the place. My sister and I live in Newport, South Wales. Our Father lives in Lancashire and our Aunty and Cousins in Florida, USA. We all visited as much as possible in between work to help support my Grandfather and one carer visited 3 times daily over past four years.
It was only late last year that our Grandfather at the age of 90, after three and a half years accepted that he could no longer look after her at their home. Due to his old age, weakness and ill health, and as a result of having to use a zimmer frame himself by then, our Grandmother went to live in a nursing home. Our Grandfather, who was dedicated to the cause and to his beloved wife of 65 years was devastated. He passed away at the age of 91, only 8 weeks afer my Grandmother's death as a result of ill health and we say through a broken heart.
My sister, Kelly, is taking part in the sponsored skydive on Sunday 5th August 2012 to raise funds. I have a serious fear of heights and decided to set up this page for everyone to donate and show their support for Kelly and the Alzheimer's Society.
The Event will take place at Skydive Swansea Ltd, Swansea Airport, Fairwood, Swansea, SA2 7JU and I will confirm the time at a later date if anyone would like to come along and show their support. Kelly will be doing a tandem skydive, jumping out of a plane at 14,000ft!!! Far too scary for me!
In the UK alone, there are 800,000 people living with Alzhiemer's with it costing the UK £23billion, £8billion of that is hidden costs due to the work done by family carers supporting people at home.
Alzheimer's Society is a membership organisation, which works to improve the quality of life of people affected by dementia in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Many of their 25,000 members have personal experience of dementia, as carers, health professionals or people with dementia themselves, and their experiences help to inform their work.
Alzheimer's Society staff and volunteers provide both local information and over 2,000 services across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to people affected by dementia in their communities. Their local services include day care and home care for people with dementia, as well as support and befriending services to help partners and families cope with the demands of caring.
The Society provides reliable and up to date information to help people with every aspect of living with dementia: from understanding diagnosis and assessment to dealing with the financial challenges they may encounter.
Every year they invest around £2 million in a research programme. This money funds important research that will help them to improve the quality of life for people with dementia, by tackling questions related to the causes of dementia, investigating good practice in care and treatment, and pursuing a cure.
For more information please visit:
My family and I sincerely hope that one day a cure will be found as we know first hand how horrific and hard to live with this disease is.
Thank you once again for taking the time to read my page. If you could donate anything my grandparents, family, me & all 800,000 suffers would be incredibly greatful.
Once you donate, JustGiving will send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.