Story
On 15th September 2026 my husband and I will be taking on the 84-mile Hadrian’s Wall Path to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Society.
As a carer, every day I see first hand the devastating impact Dementia has on the person living with the disease and their family's and friends. I have witnessed, time and time again incredibly capable, talented, kind and fun loving individuals be stripped of every aspect of what makes them who they are. I've witnessed mum's no longer recognise their dearly loved sons and daughters. I've been there when a once strong, protective and hard working father is overcome with fear, as he no longer recognises the home he's lived in for the past 15 years. Unfortunately the support for individuals and their family, navigating life with the fall out of this disease, is limited and it's a disease with no cure. The Alzheimer’s Society work hard to research the causes of the disease, find effective treatments and hopefully, one day, find a cure.
For all of my wonderful customers living with this disease, you will be my inspiration to complete the full 84 mile hike, following the Hadrian's Wall Path from coast to coast.
Before dementia my mum was an incredibly creative person. She was a brilliant artist, musician and cook, who raised huge amounts of money for children's charities, resulting in an invite to the Queen's Garden Party and Buckingham Palace. We have slowly lost the mum we loved to Alzheimer's Disease, the impact on mum and the family has been devastating. Mum now needs 24hr care. It is my heartfelt wish that a cure or treatment can be found, so others do not have to suffer.
A daughter's introduction to dementia began with forgotten words, events, & family names. That was easily overlooked. It progressed to anxious phone calls asking, "What day is it?"; easily fixed with a dementia clock. Later, and not so easy to fix, dementia stole the feeling of home and replaced it with an unrecognisable house, with unknown voices from invisible strangers. Dementia's latest trick has erased recognition of this daughter's face, who can no longer use the name 'Mum' for fear of causing distress, nor cuddle her mother without suspicion. Please donate, so that Alzheimers Society can beat this cruel disease.
I remember the excitement we felt in retirement from work, with optimism and sense of adventure for our future. However, with hindsight, early symptoms of my husbands’s dementia were already showing as slightly muddled moments, which he easily masked, or we normalised and simply passed off, until it became obvious something was wrong. Within 2 years we were sitting together in the doctor’s surgery, where I was shocked to see him struggling to complete the cognitive assessments and the impact of what that meant. Further tests and scans led to a diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia, which was soon followed by more overwhelming symptoms: increased confusion, hallucinations and delusions, periods of lost lucidity, constant sleep disruptions, and deterioration of physical mobility to the stage of needing a wheelchair within another 2 years. My efforts to help, along with those of supportive carers we organised, seemed to just slip away as the next problem evolved or became apparent. My husband was always dependable and steadfast and his brave attitude in the face of his debilitating condition is admirable. He is in a care home now aged just 71 and I sit here alone trying to reconcile our current circumstances with memories of the people we were just a few years ago. I would like to see more research for a clearer understanding, early intervention, and prevention of the devastating effects of dementia.