Nicola & James Jnr & Neil are taking on the Jog (walk for Nicola!) 50 Miles in November challenge to support families facing dementia across the UK. Dementia UK provides specialist dementia support for families through their Admiral Nurse service. When things get challenging or difficult for people with dementia and their families, Admiral Nurses work alongside them, giving them compassionate one-to-one support, expert guidance and practical solutions that can be difficult to find elsewhere. 

We started our journey with dementia back in 2017. A pretty challenging year with a lot going on and then the crushing diagnosis in the September that Dad had vascular dementia. Since then we’ve looked at life with Dad/Grandpa with different eyes. You read up on it all to try to get to grips with what lies ahead, try to get your head round what’s in store… but you truly have to be in the moments with Dad to understand how cruel dementia can be, as it takes him away from us, week by week. Day by day. This summer we converted our dining room into a bedroom so he could come and stay over for weekends. There’s not a lot of sleep to be had… instead a fair few early hour trips with the zimmer round the lounge, hallway and kitchen as he wakes up all through the night, trying to figure out where he is. My heart sinks when he looks right through me with zero recognition of who I am…The daylight hours are the complete opposite to night time. Although Dad doesn’t speak anymore, we can still smile and laugh with him… whereas through the night, he’s a lost soul. As heartbreaking as this is, we pull together as a family and supporting each other, we get Dad through another day, another week. He’s safe and cared for 24/7, and always surrounded with love but we want to do something to help DementiaUK to extend their amazing Admiral nurse care to reach those people that don’t have the luxury of people to catch them when they fall. Please help us to reach our target if you can. On behalf of every family dealing with this cruel disease, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for just reading our story. James & Neil will run and Nicola will walk 50 miles each throughout the next month to hopefully bring some recognition to the hard work these Admiral nurses do. A diagnosis of dementia is a one way path… you can’t fight it, but you find a way to live the best life with it. It’s heartbreaking to gradually watch our wonderful Dad/Grandpa fading away, but we’re still grateful for every single moment in his company 🥰 Thank YOU! Xx