This year I’m doing the London Marathon for the first time on April 27th plus a follow up half marathon in Wimbledon on May 18th to make sure I’m still capable of running afterwards! There is a symbolism in this, because Dementia Admiral Nurses constantly go the extra mile to support the people they’re looking after. I don’t think I’d be in a position to take on this challenge if it hadn’t been for the support provided by our own specialist Dementia Admiral Nurse Maggie Carroll, for me and my beautiful late wife Maria.

Dementia is brutal. I can vouch for this. I lost my wife to young onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2023, after Maria courageously coped with the disease for nearly nine years. However, our Admiral Nurse made a vital difference to our experience. Countering the brutality of Dementia with practical support, compassion and humour. Enabling us to navigate services that are often very difficult to access and advocating for us when we were at our most vulnerable.

Often I start my training by running through Finsbury Park. On one side of the park is the London Borough of Haringey and the other side is the London Borough of Hackney. Both are obviously great places! But only one of these boroughs had an Admiral Nurse in 2016 when we connected with Maggie. I feel blessed that that we luckily lived in the borough that had an Admiral Nurse. It would be great to take luck out of the equation. I sometimes wonder what would have happened to us if we’d lived on the other side of the park.

I’m happy to say that both boroughs now have an Admiral Nurse. It demonstrates progress can be made. However, the need is still great. In certain parts of the country there is minimal provision. For example, there is one Dementia Admiral Nurse for the whole of East Sussex. That means places like Brighton, Eastbourne and Lewes have access to just one Admiral Nurse between them!

A critical element of this run is honouring Maria’s memory. She wanted people in the future to have a better experience of the disease than her. It’s why she volunteered for projects at The Dementia Research Centre at University College, London Hospital shortly after she was diagnosed. I truly believe that widening the provision of Dementia Admiral Nurses is a way of achieving this, reducing pain and isolation and bringing hope to families and individuals across the country facing this daunting disease.

Thank you so much.

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