Dementia is the leading cause of death in women in the U.K. With it being the second most likely cause in men. There are 850,000 people who are currently suffering from dementia in the U.K today and that is set to rise to 2 million by 2051.

One of the many affected by this disease was my nan, Edna Kemp. She was a stubborn, kind hearted, and quick witted woman, who gave out so much love. She was a second mum to me, my sisters and my cousins. Nothing ever was too much trouble for her. She was forever taking on more than she bargained for especially when my mum and dad decided to have four girls, at one point, all under the age of 8. (No wonder she loved the cider) However, She never batted an eye lid according to my mum. 

With my mum and dad both working early shifts til late; my nan would volunteer to do the washing, morning routine, school run and being the woman she was, offered to walk but instead get dragged around by our dog that was double her height. She would buy each and everyone of our horrific school photographs and frame them proudly around her house. She would never shout, even when we would give her a mini heart attack about 12 times a day, when we used to 'test her fire alarm'. She used to play along with our imaginary games, teach us how to blow our noses and how to put a coat on without the sleeves underneath coming right up. She also taught me to love tea...and i can safely say, she made the best cup of tea in the world!!! She truly was the best nan!

However In her late 70's we started to notice little signs of confusion like her forgetfulness was causing her to forget about keys and her alarm code as well as people’s birthdays. Her time keeping was becoming decreasingly worse as she was always late or missing events she had planned. She was later diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, and started to envision things that weren't actually there like dog's on her door step making her very confused. Then later on, she developed vascular dementia where reduced blood flow to the brain eventually causes the brain cells to die. Alongside this, my nan began to suffer from seizures which became more frequent as time went on. For such a petite little woman, her body and mind was going through so much trauma. However, with her being her strong and stubborn self she continued to fight on and never lost her smile.

Eventually, my nan was unable to look after herself so my family made the very hard decision of putting her in to a specialist Alzheimer's/ dementia residential home, where she could live independently but with support. We thought it might help slow down the effects of dementia, However, with no cure. she only deteriorated. So we moved her into a full time, care assistant home. In this time, this disease took away her independence, as well as her mobility, communication skills and worst of all her ability to recognise her own family. It took away all her dignity and she had no quality of life and this was the biggest heartbreak of all. 

Before the dementia, my nan was otherwise a fit, healthy woman with no other medical conditions. She had this disease for over 10 years and had it until she died peacefully aged 89, on May 18th 2017. These years whilst she suffered the disease were unbareably hard for my family, having to watch her detiorate from the strong minded woman she was.

I miss my nan unimaginable amounts, but knowing she is now free from the this horrific disease is what brings comfort to me and my family.
I believe no person or family should have to go through the events that we went through. I plan to raise this money to not only honour her memory but to help this charity with research towards a cure, prevention and support, so that one day dementia will only be a thing of the past.