Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.  I appreciate that for all of us the last year coping with Covid-19 means that it is a very difficult time emotionally and for many it is also financially precarious.  Please do not feel obliged to donate, I want to share my jogging experience as we hopefully emerge from the crisis as I use it to try to maintain my physical & mental health.  My plan is to post regular updates here.

Running Down Dementia asks people to run, jog or walk 100k, 300k or whatever they like between 1 March & 31 August.  In 2020 I ran the equivalent of a route from Stockton-on-Tees to Lands End, plotting a route and looking at the places I passed through.  This year I will do likewise but plot a route towards John O'Groats and see how far I get.

My wife Pat was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) in 2012, 18 months after her retirement as a nurse in the NHS. This answered many questions we had about things that had taken place over the previous 5 years. Following her diagnosis her decline was rapid resulting in loss of speech, an inability to swallow and for the final months she was forced to use a wheelchair. Throughout her ordeal she was always able to recognise us all and was aware until very close to the end of her life.

Since her diagnosis I have been working to raise awareness of early onset dementia and also to raise funds for dementia charities such as Alzheimer's Research UK who kindly posted our story on their blog in 2017 (https://www.dementiablog.org/eight-phases-of-ftd/).

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.