Hello!

In 2024 Julian and I ran the London Marathon to raise money for Alzheimer's Research UK. Alzheimer's has changed the present and future for our family, and we want to take back control. Julian is doing it again in 2025 with 2 friends. Grainne will help cheer them on!

Here's waht Eimear wrote last year.

I am so proud of both of my parents for taking on this challenge.A few years ago, at the age of 54, my dad was diagnosed with a rare presentation of Alzheimer's, known as primary progressive aphasia  (PPA, logopenic subtype).

Aphasia means that my dad is experiencing a neurological language problem. For dad, these language changes present as a frequent inability to find words and process language spoken to him. He says that sometimes, he can find certain words easily, but struggles more with others. He tries to have a positive outlook, but this can be hard when situations that used to be so easy have changed so much. He finds talking to new people or being in group situations much more difficult and isolating than before. Anyone who knows my dad will understand how far from normal this is for him. He has always been quick and witty, with an ability to make people feel seen when he talks to them. So, getting used to this change is an ongoing challenge for dad, for us and for his friends. The ‘progressive’ part of this diagnosis means that things will get worse over time. Logopenic PPA is sometimes described as a language-led presentation of Alzheimer’s disease rather than the classic memory problems. However, given the rarity of Dad’s condition we don’t know how fast this will happen. We hope it will progress slowly.

This is why we are raising money for Alzheimer's Research UK; people assume that dementia is a certain thing when it really isn’t one size fits all. Even though my dad’s type of Alzheimer’s is rare, 1.6 million people in the UK will be living with dementia by 2040.Dad is young and his type of Alzheimer's is poorly understood. It is easy to be afraid of what we do not understand. We want to take back control and help raise money for more research that could help people like Dad face a diagnosis of dementia with less fear and more understanding and hopefully, one day, a cure. We all thought we had more time for conversations with Dad; the big ones and the small ones. Alzheimer's might have taken this away from us but more research can give this chance back to other families. If you are able to donate or share, thank you so much: I would listen tothis song while you do, one of Dad's anthems that will push them through the marathon & all the training.And if you can, go and have a chat and a giggle with someone you love. Eimear

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