Around 225,000 people develop dementia every year – that's the equivalent to one person every three minutes. My story is a very personal one as it affects my Dad.

Around the age of 67 he started to feel that something wasn't quite right with his head, he was forgetting things, and not being able to bring the right words to mind. He went to the doctors and they incorrectly diagnosed him with anxiety, giving him tablets to ease this disorder.

He had had all the tests for Dementia and they all came back negative. For the next 5 years his concerns grew as whatever was going on in his head, didn't feel like anything related to anxiety. Finally exasperated, he pushed for a referral to one of the leading world experts in the field of Dementia who is based at Cambridge University.

Within 5 minutes, the professor diagnosed that my Dad had an extremely rare and aggressive form of the disease and without pulling any punches told both my parents that within 6 years’ time, my Father would no longer be able to lead any kind of normal life. The picture on this page was the year my Dad was properly diagnosed, this was 2014 taken on a moving boat (hence the crazy hair styles!!), 7 years after he first felt that something was wrong. In January of 2018 my Mum (no longer being able to care for him at home) made the awful and unbearable decision that he would need to be moved to a specialist care home, this after 55 years of living together in the family home that I was actually born in.

My dad at 78 can now no longer feed himself, needs to be dressed and undressed, is fully incontinent, can barely speak and when he does it is almost impossible to understand what he is saying and needs 24-hour nursing care on call. To see him like this, breaks all of our hearts. He was always a very strong and independent hard-working man, had a good career and above all else has been a loving Husband and amazing Father.

This September and October Memory Walks will be taking place across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to raise money for a world without dementia. Arm in arm, step by step and pound by pound, we will get there.

Once you donate, Just Giving will send your money directly to the Alzheimer's Society. So it's the most efficient way to raise money – saving time and cutting costs for the charity. Please dig as deep as you possibly can and help us walk for a world without dementia.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Best


Steve x