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I am being a crazy cat this Christmas by giving up a morning of opening presents under the tree by a logfire (we don't actually own a log fire - this is purely for christmassy visual effect) in our warm Christmas jumpers; an early Christmas dinner where we can stuff our faces with all the food imaginable and the all important cooked Christmas breakfast for the cold, below zero (I imagine, but most likely true) wide part of Weymouth'sharbour, where I will join a bunch of other crazy cats who do this year on year to raise money for a charity of their choice. 

Just to give you an idea of what I'll be doing whilst you're sitting in your warm living room listening to Wham's Last Christmas, unwrapping your new iPad's and Android Apple wannabes take a look at the video from last year to give you an insight. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nerjyhKGCo

The Nitty Gritty

Now to get down to the more serious part of why I'm doing this and why I've chosen the Alzheimer's Society. 

Many of you probably know that I am related to Banbury's legend George Parish, who has been diagnosed withAlzheimer's for some time now. Witnessing his rapid decline and experiencing how cruel the illness is to not only the individual but the people who he once would have classed as close friends and family is heartbreaking. There are some lucky people in the world who don't know - or will never know - how it feels for their mum, dad, brother, sister, cousin or best friend to not know their name, but this is our daily struggle. 

I'm sure everyone knows already, but we just want to give everyone reading this profile an overview of what Alzheimer's and Dementia is -to be on the same page. 

"Alzheimer’s disease is adegenerative brain disease and the most common cause of dementia.1-2 Dementiais also caused by other diseases and conditions. It is characterized by adecline in memory, language, problem-solving and other cognitive skills thataffects a person’s ability to perform everyday activities. This decline occursbecause nerve cells (neurons) in parts of the brain involved in cognitivefunction have been damaged and no longer function normally. In Alzheimer’sdisease, neuronal damage eventually affects parts of the brain that enable aperson to carry out basic bodily functions such as walking and swallowing.People in the final stages of the disease are bed-bound and requirearound-the-clock care. Alzheimer’s disease is ultimately fatal". 

- Alzheimer's Association 

It is believed that there are ways you can reduce your chances of contracting Dementia in your early life but there is currently nocure for Alzheimer's disease - or any other forms of Dementia - once you have it. Below are some hard-hitting and heartbreaking statistics taken from the Alzheimer's Society website that we hope will highlight the importance of raising money for this charity. 

• The proportion of people with dementia doubles for every five-year age group 
• There will be 1 million people with dementia in the UK by 2025 
• 60,000 deaths a year are directly attributable to dementia 

The facts above are scary and we want todo something about it. 

Recently, we have noticed that there is more research being done on the disease, more of a societal understanding and recognition of what it is and more media coverage, which is great (yay!) but whilst there is more recognition and research being done, there is still so much more to be discovered. There is no insight into the biological changes that cause the disease, why the progress in individuals differs from person to person and how the disease can actually be slowed, stopped or - even better - prevented. 

I'm not naive. Although I wish I could, I know I could never raise enough money to fund finding a cure through one harbour swim, but if I can reach - and maybe slightly exceed my target (thanks in advance, by the way) - with your help, one day I will be able to say I contributed to the research... so why not donate today and be one ofthose people who can say they abolished Dementia! 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast andtotally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell themon or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directlyto the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time andcutting costs for the charity.