Dad's Story: 

With everything going on in the world today, as some of you know, my parents,myself & my close family have been fighting our own little war the last few years...it's called Alzheimer's. 

In 2012 I got married. Dad turned up to the wedding without his shoes, shirt & tie. "For god sake dad!" was the response. Then when I appeared at the top of the aisle, dad was standing at the bottom leaving my best man to awkwardly walk me down the aisle to him to then hand me over. 'What is he doing?' we all wondered. Later that evening he told the guests the drinks were free all night, knowing that we had always discussed a paying bar. 'Well that was embarrassing'. But that was just the start of a whole unfolding nightmare of events. After being hospitalised suddenly & a time we would all much rather forget, he begun to do the strangest things at home. He sprayed the white cast iron garden furniture with black blobs of spray paint... "camouflage" he said. He became a social butterfly talking to everyone he came across, neighbours, strangers, shop assistants, when for years before it was a struggle to even get him to family parties. He constantly made cups of tea & left them all around the house untouched. He became obsessed with the TV shows 'Songs of Praise' and 'The Antiques Road Show', never missing a showing & ordering silence throughout. It was all very strange & just not 'dad'. 

When the blackouts started we knew something was seriously wrong. The falls resulted in broken bones, shoulders, ribs, punctured lungs, hospitalisation for weeks, things were becoming very scary & still we didn't have many answers. Well they turned out to be mini strokes. Lots of them. But little did we know there was a reason behind all of this & the complete personality change to boot. Eventually we had a diagnosis. Alzheimer's. 

But that's what old people get right? Dad was only early 60s? That can't be right? But it was, and it's only going to get worse they said. Well they wernt wrong. The last few years have been a struggle for all of us. Dad has to live with this illness that sometimes I dont think he's even aware of, yet other times the confusion on his face says it all. Mum has to deal with the continuous same questions & answers, sometimes hundreds of times a day, the strange behaviours, the verbal aggressiveness, the sleepless nights, the cooking meal after meal & throwing them away, the worry that every time he goes for a walk she will get another phone call from a stranger who has found him fallen or covered in blood, the following her around the house, the paranoia, and more recently the growing incontinence problems he has. Amongst many other things & all of her own medical problems. My brother & I do all we can on a daily basis to help & give our support. The grandkids who used to just laugh & say "grandads having a silly day" but are now growing older & understanding so much more. It's just been horrid. 

So, I would like to do something for a great charity, the Alzheimer's Society & try & raise money through this Just Giving page to help families like mine, sufferers & carers alike & raise awareness for an illness that has touched many members of my family including my grandparents. And to add to the fundraising, from June 19th-24th my workplace Salon 361 in Thundersley will also be holding a cupcake sale in order boost the money I can raise alone. We will be baking & selling yummy treats from muffins to cupcakes to doggy cakes & gluten free goodies so there's no excuse, everyone's covered! 😋   So please gimme a penny, a pound, a dollar or a dime! Help support & join me in raising some funds or even just awareness by sharing. 

Thanks for reading & I apologise for the essay! It was the only way! 😊

Han xxx

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