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.

In September 2014, six years after being
officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and many more after having started to show signs of dementia, our darling father passed away.

He spent the last four years of his life in a nursing home, on a “lock down” floor.We all suffered as he went through the various stages of this terrible disease:

• Forgetfulness

• Repeating stories

• Fantasising – apparently the garage was full of explosives

• Anger

• Profanity

• Total loss of short term memory

• Self harm – by the end of his life he only had a few teeth left – he pulled all the others out himself

• Incontinence

• Stealing – it was a shame when, on a supervised excursion to WH Smith, he took a bite out of all the Mars Bars he had stuffed in his pocket!

• For the last few months of his life he did not speak at all

By the time he died he had already spent years forgetting how to live. Murray Greenwood was a witty raconteur, a wonderful Father, a loving husband, a much loved grandfather and great grandfather, an appalling trumpet player and he was always larger than life.

When we “Greenwood Girls” do our walk on June 1st we will be doing it to honour the man our father was and in the hope that our fundraising efforts will help to ensure that, at some point in the future, no one will have to endure being the person he became.

If you made it to the end of this missive thank you and well done. If you feel you could donate to this cause then an even bigger thank you!