My dad taught me all I ever needed to know about being a good human. About being kind, working hard, looking after your family, keeping a calm, level head when things are tough, and laughing whenever they're not. As a dad, growing up, he was just about as perfect as a dad could be. 

About ten years ago he started saying things like, "My mind is not what it used to be." We all said, "Don't worry, dad, you're just getting old." About three years ago it became clear that it wasn't age that was withering him. His decline has been swift ever since. And especially painful for my mum who endured far too much on her own before we realised how much help was needed. 

My dad can still recognise my mum, my sister and one of my brothers and his wife, who have been lucky enough to see him recently. But because of covid, I haven't seen him in nearly two years. In many ways, I think I've been spared the difficulty of facing up to how the disease has changed him. Thankfully he's apparently still a congenial gentleman. He's just not there in the way he used to be. And less so all the time.  

I support the Alzheimer's Society, because I believe the number of treatments for this disease, which are yet to be discovered, is far greater than those we've already found. I'd like to do what I can to accelerate those discoveries. So that families don't have to watch their loved ones fading in this way. 

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Alzheimer’s Society is transforming the landscape of dementia forever. Until the day we find a cure, we will create a society where those affected by dementia are supported and accepted, able to live in their community without fear or prejudice.