My dad, Alexander Creswell, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2018. His diagnosis followed years of fear and anger due to his undiagnosed symptoms. I have been a caregiver for my dad for the last 2 years, alongside my mum, Mary. His care has priority over everything in our lives and it only gets more exhausting, devastating and isolating with every day that passes.

My dad is enduring a fate worse than death. Of course this fate includes death, but my family and I must watch as he dies a thousand times over before that final death eventually comes.

I am running the Cambridge Half Marathon to raise money for Alzheimer's Research so that hopefully you or I will have better treatments or a cure when the time comes, and so that millions can be spared the pain of this insidious disease.

Some statistics:

- Alzheimer’s and Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer and has been for years - it has been the biggest killer of women every year since 2012.

- 1 in 3 people in the UK will develop dementia in their lifetime

- There is no cure and precious little support.

- There are no drugs available in the UK to slow the progression of the disease

- Worldwide, 55 million people have been diagnosed with Dementia and Alzheimer’s, that is expected to rise to 152.8 million in the next 25 years.

- In 2024 the UK government target diagnosis rate for dementia and Alzheimer’s was 66.7% - meaning the government aimed to diagnose only 2 thirds of those suffering - as of 30th January 2025, this target has been removed from NHS Operation Planning Guidance.

These statistics don’t take into account the 1/3 of those who do not get diagnosed or the millions of people who’s lives are severely altered to provide care for their loved ones:

- Unpaid caregivers are the backbone of the caring sector, the majority women are women, like myself.

- In England and Wales, Unpaid caregivers did £162 billion worth of unpaid work last year, shouldering an unbearable burden. Yet the poverty rate for unpaid carers is 50% higher than for those who do not care.

(Dementia is a general term, there are many different forms of dementia - Alzheimer’s being the most common type: 60-70% of those diagnosed)

Alzheimer’s is the greatest tragedy for every life it touches.

It isn’t a disease of the elderly, my dad was only 61 when he was eventually diagnosed after 5 years of struggling to get a diagnosis - I was 18, my mum was 50, my brother 19, and my sister 15. His eventual diagnosis followed years tumultuous fear and anger caused by his undiagnosed symptoms.

If you knew my dad, you would know that he was one of the greatest painters in the world (not biased I swear!). His work was beautiful and hopeful, his paintings are filled with light and peace. But he now lives in darkness and fear.

He was also one of the cleverest and funniest people you could ever hope to meet - he can still be brilliant and funny for short bursts.

A few months ago, I spent 3 nights awake sitting next to my Dad in bed, he was terrified of something I couldn’t see or imagine. Nobody can cope with no sleep, and it’s ten times worse when your brain is already untrustworthy and cruel. So, in the days he was exhausted and scared too, immediately expressed through great anger - fear brings out the worst in a person.

This is his Alzheimer’s - it is fear, anger, pain, and hopelessness, and is really tough to watch in someone you love.

Existence with Alzheimer’s is dark in so many ways, Alex wakes up only to discover that his awful nightmares are real, he wakes up and wishes he could die.

These days are sadly in the majority - he is in a state of total and complete hopelessness, terrified of things we can’t even fathom, he knows for certain that none of his tomorrows will bring him a cure, or anything to ease his suffering.

We try to lessen his misery with all the love and laughter we create around him: Moomins everywhere, hundreds of fairy lights, disco balls and biscuits etc. But he misses the things he has lost, the things he can't do or understand, and he misses the friends and family who stopped visiting.

My family lives in an ambiguous state of mourning, where we get up every day to love a person who has been lost but is still there. We are grieving in a way that we are forced to explain, and that takes all our energy to explain, and we are grieving in a way that others struggle to see or don’t want to see.

Tragedies make you see the best and the worst in people, and I am unbelievably grateful for those wonderful friends who we have seen the best of.

I am so proud of our caring and the love and laughter which we conjure everyday.

I think of all the other families who are isolated and crippled by Dementia. This is a really tough gig.

I thought about writing something upbeat but right now it would be a lie. (This is already more positive and sparkly than I would have liked)

While this fundraiser is not for my dad, we were told back in 2018 that there was no hope of a cure for him, it is for all the rest of us! There could be and must be hope for you or me if/when we are faced with the same fate. Raising money for Alzheimer’s Research UK is unbelievably important for all of us.

Alzheimer’s is insidious and all-encompassing. Without a cure there is no hope.

It goes undiagnosed for too long. There is not enough research and education for many, including my father, to get diagnosed when they should. Some like my father, diagnosed years late, try to mask and comprehend their symptoms, in controlling, furious behaviours and total terror that has the potential to destroy families and isolate the person, destroying them too.

We need funding for research so that a cure will be found before too many other families face the total destruction of Alzheimer’s. As 1 in 3 people in the UK will develop dementia in their lifetime, it matters for all of us, maybe you’ll have some hope if it’s your turn.

There was never any hope for my dad, there just wasn’t enough research or funding. But when it comes to anyone reading this, at any age, it couldn’t be more important. A cure is possible, better treatment is possible, it is just severely underfunded and foolishly undervalued.

Alzheimer’s research are giving hope to everyone, we all need a cure - please donate anything you can!