It has been a while since I laced up my trainers and took on a distance running challenge.  This week is Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) awareness week and I have taken on a personal challenge to take action and raise awareness and funding for the The Lewy Body Society - a UK charity founded in 2006 to support research into Lewy body dementia and to raise awareness of the disease.  My challenge will be to run the Great North Run (13.1 miles/half marathon) in my birth town of Newcastle.  I love the trails so a road run as well as being out of practice for 18 months is an added challenge. UPDATE: I unfortunately had to defer my GNR place to next year, so in the meantime jogged/walked the half marathon distance on Sunday 12th September, and will be running two 10ks over the next few weeks whilst I regain my fitness..

I had never heard of lewy body dementia until last year and just a few weeks before my Dad Tom was formally diagnosed with LBD and shortly before he passed away.  Raising awareness and funding to improve research and support for those affected by LBD is something I can try and help having learned through experience.

What you may not know… 

📌 Lewy body dementia is an umbrella term for two types of dementia: dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson's disease dementia
📌 It is thought to make up 10-15% of dementia diagnoses in the UK
📌 It is often mistaken for Alzheimer's disease
📌 Lewy body dementia affects the person's movement, and can cause hallucinations and delusions, as well as changes in levels of alertness
📌 In dementia with Lewy bodies, cognitive changes happen first, or at the same time as physical changes
📌 In Parkinson's disease dementia, physical changes happen first, including tremors and rigidity
📌 Not everyone who has Parkinson's disease will develop dementia, but the chance increases the longer someone lives with Parkinson's

Robin’s Wish is a documentary about the late entertainer Robin Williams and shines a light on Lewy Body Dementia,, if you are curious to understand more about it. Trailer link - https://youtu.be/V59s_asIf2g

Thank you!  🏃🏼‍♀️👟 

Lisa