I aim to cycle from Land’s End to John O
groats. 960 miles in nine days, camping along the way. 

I am doing it for a cause that couldn’t be closer to home. It
has taken me till today to grasp the nettle and write this. My Sister and her four children have endured a brutal 8 year period following the diagnosis of her husband, (my brother in law), with a rare young onset dementia at the age of 51 in 2013. As a husband and father of 4 children, working full time running his own business, life as they knew it was thrown into turmoil. Andrew’s decline was very sad to watch as his family grew up around him, he lost his ability to communicate with or understand, relying on his family to look after him before moving into a care home for the last 18 months of his life which ended in May 2021.

This disease, like all forms of dementia is brutal and will sadly impact on many of us either through our family, friends or people we come across in our daily lives. The work ‘Rare dementia support’ with the charity the National Brain appeal do is invaluable through their research and support. They help families like my sisters understand and cope with the tears, challenges and complexity of this tragic disease.

Please give generously.