This week I lost my Nanna to dementia.

After countless ‘after-school’s at Nanna and Grandad's’, countless memories at their caravan, summer holidays, sleepovers with fruit & melted chocolate, we had to say goodbye this week. Probably one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my life.

The truth is that dementia took pieces of the Nanna we knew and loved many years ago. Unless you have experienced watching a family member or friend go through this disease, it's difficult to comprehend just how heartbreaking it is.

I will always remember Nanna for her kindness, her love, and the way she put family at the centre of everything. She also shaped my Mum into the incredible person she is today, and so much of who we are as a family comes from her influence.

It hurts that Nanna didn’t remember the memories I’ll never forget, especially in mine, Sophie & Sara’s childhood. But I promise that those memories will never be forgotten. I will continue to share them, tell her stories, and keep her memory alive.

Sam Fender's Remember My Name will forever bring me to floods of tears, no matter how many times I hear it. The song reflects so much of what my Grandad, my family, and Nanna herself have been through during these few years.

In memory of Nanna, I will be running the Great North Run, my first half marathon, to raise money for Alzheimer's Research. I hope that fewer families will have to watch someone they love slowly be taken away by this disease.

No matter the size of the donation, I’ll be forever grateful if any donation can be given towards my goal.

Thank you so much,

Dan