Our amazing dad was diagnosed only 2 years ago with this rapidly progressive and extremely cruel dementia. Our handsome, intelligent role model of a dad has deteriated so quickly during that time that he is now totally dependent on care and each day we feel we are loosing the man we all love so much to this terrible and heartbreaking disease. FTD is an uncommon dementia that is very rapidly progressive and effects behaviour, problem-solving, planning, understanding, control of emotions, memory and speech.
He is only 65 and has spent the last 3 months in hospital because there has been no care home suitable for his care locally as most will not take patients with this form of dementia.
We have recently been very fortunate in securing a place at a home that has had some news rooms built and we are very excited to start settling him in next week (wb 7th nov) they have a new outside space ...but at the moment it has nothing in it apart from a soft surface brightly coloured flooring. Dad loves to be outside... he loves to watch the birds and water the plants and we would love to try and give him and other patients a little bit of enjoyment by providing them with a sensory garden. The garden we hope to create would include a bird feeding stand, some benches, some scented and colourful pots and raised beds, a digging and planting trough , watering cans and gardening tools and some tactile and sensory wall art.
The pain it causes us to see him change and forget so rapidly is truly the worst feeling in the world and it hurts us deeply to leave him at the end of a visit when all we want to do is wrap him up and take him home. It would be so lovely to see him gain so much from keeping busy in a garden, it would make him smile and we know he would have happy times if we could just help develop the outside space. He would enjoy it so much as would the other patients. Please help us make a difference.