Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

If you know me, you might be aware of the journey our family has been on these last 12 months following my mum's diagnosis of early on-set vascular dementia. Many of you read my blog regularly (www.mycrazymum.com) and offer me and my family words of support and love. Many of you send me inspirational quotes to help me through the day and many of you help by being true friends - knowing when I need to talk about it and when I need to block it out.

For those who don't know....this is our story:

My mum was just 64 last year when she was diagnosed with vascular dementia and her rapid deterioration over the course of the past 12 months has been frightening and utterly devastating. Gone is the woman who could do anything she turned her hand to. Gone is the woman whose laugh could stop traffic. Gone is the granny who loved to spend time creating memories with her 8 grandchildren. Gone is my mum....the rock in our family. All we have left is a woman who looks like my mum, who wears my mum's clothes, yet she is just a shell. The person inside that shell is fearful, delusional, paranoid and terrified of everything. She cannot find her way around the house anymore. She cannot make a cup of tea, or even put the kettle on. Some mornings she cannot dress herself and the saddest thing of all is that she does not know my dad. She does not recognise him and sees him as a stranger in her house. So, she spends her time wandering around the house, searching for him, searching for the man she has loved since she was 17, and she cannot find him, she cannot see him standing in front of her. We are bereft and even though she is still with us, we miss her constantly. I miss her constantly.

Me, my brother Clive and our very good friend Danny are running the Great North Run this year and have teamed up to try and raise as much as possible for the Alzheimer's Society and any donation, no matter how small would be so very gratefully received.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.