Three lockdowns will do strange things to people... like convincing me to run a marathon!

My Nan was diagnosed with dementia 8 years ago, and it has changed all of my family’s lives. For a short while she lived with us at home, but in 2017 she moved into a care home.

Having a family member with dementia is awful in many ways, as you watch someone you love slowly disappear. There are emotional and financial burdens and I know my mum hates that my nan now lives in a care home, but for our family we just couldn’t provide the 24/7 care someone with dementia needs. Seeing the impact of my nan’s diagnosis led me to work for Alzheimer’s Society and inspired me to run this marathon. 

Dementia is the leading cause of death in the UK and it is our biggest health crisis with one person developing dementia every three minutes. My nan has my family, she has financial resources, but so often people are left alone without support and face selling their home and possessions to access care that the Government doesn’t provide. Covid has only made access to support harder and care home residents have been forgotten and voiceless in the pandemic.

My nan is hilarious, even with dementia she has retained her personality but it feels so unfair that she is living with none of her memories, no idea who her family are or where she is.

I’m raising money for Alzheimer’s Society because I want to help fund dementia support and research so that no-one else has to experience this cruel and dehumanising disease. Dementia isn’t something that just happens to older people,  it’s not a normal part of ageing and it isn’t ‘losing your marbles’. Dementia is a group of brain diseases that desperately need more research and funding. I’m grateful for any donations, from a couple of pennies to a couple of pounds whilst I plod along and hurt my knees in aid of dementia research and support.