ANTONY BROWN
Ant & Mick's Amazon expedition
Fundraising for Alzheimer's Society
Story
Starting first from Ants perspective - When my life long friend and best man (Jeff Halls) told us he'd joined forces with Neil Laughton to explore the Amazon on inflatable Paddle Boards I thought "Hallsy's finally lost the plot"?
Crocodile, yellow belly piranha, poison tip frogs, snakes and tarantula... are just some of the scary creatures they may encounter, and then, I looked at a picture of my mum, smiling at me with a glass of wine in her hand, and could hear her saying "Antony... LIFE is for living, what are you waiting for?".
Those of you who know me have undoubtedly heard that my lovely mum Audrey Marina Brown lost her battle with Dementia in October. In life she had vivacity, style, good humour, and a smile that would light up a room and her love for life gave me, and my brothers a sense of fun and adventure which will live with us all for the rest of our days.
In the final chapter of Mum's life dementia took a hold, and even then, with a smile on her face she would say... "I've been painfully aware for some time that I'm now very forgetful and going a bit silly... but to be honest, I've always been a bit "Do lally tat and ding dong".
When mum reached the stage she was no longer able to look after herself there were a number of very special people who both treated, cared for, and supported mum. In particular all the staff at the Sunnyhill Care Home in Eastbourne. Not only did they take care of mum, they welcomed her in, and made her feel at home not just in a home, but part of the Sunnyhill family.
These were the people we could see - there are undoubtedly so many more including all those who are doing research and making drugs to combat this terrible disease/condition.
So I've decided to try and put something back, and to do what I can to help. I'm going to latch on to my mums lust for life, and join Jeff Halls, Neil Laughton, Micky Bishop, and a handful of other adventurous souls to become the 1st group of people ever to explore a particular area on the "black waters" of the Peruvian Amazon in the Samiria National Reserve on paddle boards.
And from Mick - Dementia is a cruel disease. Sadly my Dad is battling it too. There are good days and bad and its heartbreaking to see the man we once knew deteriorating before our very eyes. It doesn't just affect him, it affects mum and everyone else around them. I'm grateful for all the hard work both by the medical and support staff we see and of course all those working so hard in the background. Like Ant and Jeff (who are both life long friends), I am looking for someway to show my appreciation so when we spoke about this I thought what the hell, jump in, both feet... I just hope there's no piranha waiting in the water for me!!!
You can help us, help those who are doing all they can to both find a cure, or who are continuing to support and treat those that are suffering by sponsoring us and donating to the Alzheimers society.
That said... if you would prefer to give to the battle against prostrate cancer (another cause very close to my heart) please switch to Jeff's Justgiving page and donate there.
Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.