My mum, Valerie Fox, is 69 years old and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's five years ago. We knew there was something wrong before this, but it took several years to finally get the diagnosis. During this time, we have seen her slowly slip away from the lovable, funny person she is to a shell of a human being who can no longer look after herself properly. It is absolutely heart breaking. 

As of January 2022 she currently resides in a care home, where my Dad visits twice a day to feed her and be by her side. Both myself and my sister attend when we can, but sadly our Mum no longer knows who we are anymore, which is really difficult to comprehend. Before she got to this stage though, the Alzheimer's Society gave my parents a new lease of life, if only for a brief amount of time, with the great classes and meetings they hold such as singing for the brain and poetry reading. She enjoyed the singing very much and even wrote a poem about her battle which she read out in public and made the local newspaper. Not only did these classes and meetings give them something to look forward to each week, but it also gave them a whole new network of people and friends to talk to, whom were all going through the same thing. This was especially comforting for my Dad, who must have been feeling quite lost and alone at times as he battles her disease as her primary carer. 

I will be forever grateful to the Alzheimer's Society for the help they have provided for my family and will provide for other families in the future. Thank you.

Alzheimer’s Society is transforming the landscape of dementia forever. Until the day we find a cure, we will create a society where those affected by dementia are supported and accepted, able to live in their community without fear or prejudice.