Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Dementia is now the leading cause of death in the UK. It’s a devastating and complex condition. Every 3 minutes somebody will develop dementia. There is no cure. There are 850,000 people with dementia in the UK. My lovely Dad John is one of those people who was diagnosed 10 years ago with this terrible disease. As a family we were all devastated by this news, but tried to make Dads life as good as possible. We researched on what the conditions were and our worst fear was that he would forget who we all were. Little did we know of the other conditions that Dad would develop and would finally contribute towards his end, and over the last few years of his life saw him suffer from mobility issues with walking and losing his ability to swallow food. Eventually he was unable to eat any longer, so was fed by a tube. He lost so much weight, and in the final few weeks remained in his hospital bed, unable to move or do anything for himself. We were heartbroken to see him like this. Dad finally passed away on 13th October 2019, peacefully and with all of his family by his side. John will always be remembered for his big smile, big heart and ability to make everyone around him laugh. A wonderful husband, father and grandfather, and I miss him every day.

I decided to raise money for Dementia Charities as I really wanted to do something positive in memory of Dad and to hopefully raise awareness of this awful disease. I am taking part in the Peak District Challenge on 3 July which is Walking, running, or in my case shuffling along a 30 mile route. Yes, I must be mad but this is a goal that I personally want to achieve. If anyone wants to help me along on my journey with a pound or two donation, it would be gratefully welcomed. Anyone who knows me will appreciate the sacrifice I am making in wearing sensible walking shoes (eek!) for the challenge and not my usual 6 inch heels!

Here’s to my wonderful Dad, who will be with me in spirit on the day, and to all the other amazing people that help support patients and their families in the roller coaster dementia journey.