In October last year my daughter Cait and I ran the Yorkshire Marathon. It was my first ever attempt and I only decided to do it at the last minute as I had been injured for several weeks and had only managed to run 13.1 miles before the race. We did it but I felt bad because I hadn’t managed to raise any money for the Alzheimer’s Society despite my best intentions. I simply didn’t think I’d do it and didn’t want to let people down.

So Cait and I have agreed to do another one and this time I’m giving myself 5 weeks to raise £500 through this justgiving.com page.

Alzheimer’s is a hideous disease and we have watched for several years as my Dad (Cait’s grandad) has literally faded away. I raised awareness of this issue when I worked in Scotland and I’ve copied an extract of an interview I did a couple of years ago which tells the story in a little more detail.

Interview in Sunday Mail 23rd April 2017

In an emotionally charged interview, Stewart Regan revealed that his 87-year-old father is no longer able to recognise him. He said: “My dad recognises my mum and gives her a kiss, holds her hand and is really pleased to see her.

“But he doesn’t know who I am, which is heart-breaking at times.

“It’s difficult when he doesn’t know his own kids or grandkids and doesn’t recognise people he’s known for years. We’re almost strangers to him.

“It’s maybe two or three years ago that I started to realise he didn’t recognise me. I think he knows there’s a relationship but he doesn’t know what and can’t say, ‘You’re Stewart.’

“I’m like most people exposed to dementia for the first time. It’s a debilitating disease and the deterioration can happen over a long, long period of time.

“The person you know gradually fades away before your very eyes. It’s like seeing a photograph and then over the years it almost starts to become a negative. So yes, it’s quite distressing.”

Durham-born Stewart, 53, broke down when he recalled the moment he and his siblings were forced to put dad-of-four Steve into a care home in December 2015.

The former police dog handler gashed his head in a fall and it was only when he returned home from hospital that the family realised the true extent of their father’s problems.

Stewart explained: “We stayed at the house and we got to the end of the week and realised we couldn’t leave mum on her own. So we took it in turns to stay overnight.

“My mum’s 90 this year and she’d been getting up with him three or four times a night. She was acting as his carer.

“It was at that point we realised he needed specialist care.

“The first time dad went into care was tough because we knew that he was never coming home again.

“It was soul-destroying because mum and dad got married in 1952 and had never been apart.”

Stewart said he first started to worry about his father’s memory loss 10 years ago.

The family initially shrugged off Steve’s forgetfulness before they realised he was suffering from a more serious issue.

He added: “We started to notice his memory was going and laughed about him asking the same questions.

“I told myself he was just getting old and that’s how it was.

“Then it started to impact on things.

“He’d go to the supermarket and bring back double of exactly the same thing. He’d have a list of groceries, get back to the car, put them in the boot, then think, ‘I’m here for the groceries,’ and go back inside and buy the shopping again.

“You realise that’s not just memory loss, that’s something more serious.”

Stewart revealed his father still has flashbacks to his time as a police officer and often relives his experiences on patrol with Durham Constabulary. He said: “When we visit my dad at the home, there’s a file in his room which contains everything that happens.

“Sometimes in the log it will say, ‘Steve Regan has been wandering down the corridor at two in the morning knocking on doors and saying he’s got his warrant card and is looking for someone.’

“So clearly that’s him back in policeman mode.

“Another time, he’d said he couldn’t find his car keys and had to go and pick a prisoner up to take him to the police station. So he’s obviously reliving bits of his life in his mind.”

Stewart finds it frustrating that so many memories are locked in his dad’s head but he does not seem to have access to them.

He added: “Dad can remember his parents and his grandparents. But he can’t remember people from more recent times.

“I was looking at photographs with him on Easter Monday and asking, ‘Who’s that?’

“It was pictures of my sister or my brother and he was really struggling, saying, ‘It’s on the tip of my tongue, I recognise the face.’ But he can’t actually  make the connection.

“It’s an illness and, unfortunately, he’s not going to get any better.”

The SFA have agreed to attend a summit on the issue organised by charity Alzheimer’s Scotland later this year, which will be chaired by former first minister Henry McLeish.

Stewart has raised the issue with FIFA deputy secretary general Zvonimir Boban and is working with the English FA, who have pledged a six-figure sum to fund research into the sport’s links with dementia.

Stewart added: “Clearly, from my own personal experiences, I know how tough it is for people who have loved ones who are suffering with this disease.

“We need to try to do everything we can to support them.

“The pivotal question that we want to ask relates to what is the incidence of dementia in footballers compared to the rest of society?

“I think that’s why it’s important for us to get that research, get those answers and see what we can find out.

“The more we find out about dementia as a society, the better.”

The Alzheimer’s Society is the only UK charity that campaigns for change, funds research to find a cure and supports people living with dementia today.

Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer. Someone develops it every three minutes and there’s currently no cure.