On the 12th of September, I will be running 26.2 miles in the Brighton marathon to raise money for Dementia UK. This charity is particularly close to my heart, some of you may know that my grandmother was sadly diagnosed with vascular dementia in the summer of 2017 her condition escalated extremely quickly and we were totally unaware of how devastating and life changing this condition was until we had witnessed this ourselves. Prior to her diagnosis we could slowly see her mental state getting worse but we had no idea the daily battle and sacrifice my grandad was going through to care for her. He was an ill man himself and was loosing his second battle with cancer but he was a stubborn man that would not admit defeat and although he should of been receiving care for his own needs he carried on caring for my grandmother by himself through his own battle. My grandad sadly passed away towards the end of summer 2017 and it was only then that we realised the true extent of my grandmothers health problems. Although we tried as a family to look after her we were completely out of our depth. Shortly after my grandad had passed away my grandmother started to have 24 hour care at home from carers. This only lasted 1/2 weeks as although the carers did a great job they were also unable to cope with my grandmothers needs and erratic behaviour caused by the disease combined with the stress and confusion of her husband no longer being around. Her physical health also started to deteriorate and she was taken into hospital where it was made apparent that she would need 24 hour care in a home once she was eventually discharged after falling out of her bed during the hospital stay and breaking her hip due to being unsupervised for a short period of time.
 We slowly watched as her health became worse and worse and our once fun loving grandmother eventually became consumed by the disease bed bound and
unable to put together a comprehendible sentence. After a long draining battle my grandmother passed away in December 2018.

I want to raise money for Dementia UK

-To be able to highlight the silent struggle My grandad went through to look after himself and my grandmother without any help at all and to make available services more publicly known to people going through the same struggle.

-To provide more support to the thousands going through a similar struggle my mum went through with not only dealing with her own grief of her mothers health but having to manage the stress of arranging her care and dealing with the paperwork, legalities and finances and ensuring her mothers needs were met.

-To raise the profile of the importance of the outstanding work that the undervalued carers and charities do to assist people and their families suffering with the affects of dementia.

Any donations you could make to this charity would be very appreciated and mean a lot to me and my family!

Thank you for taking the time to read. See you all at the finish line!

Luke Mercer