Lost her husband with four young adult children, house & farm burned to the ground in Ash Wednesday fires, three shoulder replacements, a hip replacement and too many knee reconstructions to count, she had her fair share of challenges to overcome, but fairly rapid onset dementia has been heartbreaking to watch as it chiselled away at her mind over the last 2-3 years.

Incredibly thankful to have had her in my life and relieved that she doesn’t have to continue suffering in a world that no longer made sense to her.

In memory of Gran, for the month of July, I am dedicating a chunk of my day to rowing on my Concept 2 indoor rower/erg.  My base target is to crack 310km for the month, far more than I've ever done before.  

While hopefully manageable at an average of 10km a day, any missed days will need to be made up and that's where things will start to get tasty.  Added to this, the girls and I are driving the coast of NSW over the coming weeks so there'll be lots of hours on the road and lots of setting the rower up in new locations.  There might even be some 'rowing inappropriately' in unique and unusual places! 

Seeing the impact of dementia first hand was heartbreaking and sadly I think this terrible disease is going to become more and more common and something we are all going to experience in some form.  It's imperative that we all take immediate and sustained steps to tackle and lessen the impact of this cruel condition which steals dignity, independence and precious memories.   

I will always remember my Gran for her kindness, spirit and determination.  I hope to live these values just as she did.

xx Tim