During 2021 my Dad, Andrew John Pickles, was diagnosed with Mixed Dementia. Even though the diagnosis was expected, you don’t quite know how to prepare yourself after that point. You are however braced to some extent for what is inevitably going to be a long hard road. The care and support we have received thus far is fantastic, however, there is always more to do in raising awareness and  funding in order to further the crucial research that is required in order to ease the pain this horrific disease relentlessly passes out. However, for me, the most important thing is the funding for Admiral Nurses. Admiral Nurses are specialist dementia nurses. Continually supported and developed by Dementia UK, they provide life-changing support for families affected by all forms of dementia. They are the backbone of the front line fight against Dementia.

A soon as we got an official diagnosis for Dad, my thoughts immediately turned to fundraising in some capacity. My Dad has been a dedicated fundraiser and has done vast amounts of fundraising in his life for many organisations and charities. I knew I had to take on a challenge that would make him proud and take me out out of my comfort zones. I had flirted with a few ideas but nothing really got the juices flowing so to speak. Step in Matthew Kinloch. Matthew and his good friend Chris Sleigh reached out to a few of us and asked if we were keen on Kayaking around the Isle of Arran. Immediately I thought, this is it. The challenge which consists of 100km around Arran in the unforgiving maritime conditions off the West of Scotland. Not for the faint of heart to say the least!! Especially considering some of the group have never been in a Kayak before. With some great organisational skills from Chris we had an itinerary and our names were on the blackboard. Myself, Matthew Kinloch, Chris Thomson, Archie Crawford, Aaron Newcombe and Chris Sleigh will set off on Thursday 5th May and will finish on 10th May. We will be kayaking 25km per day while taking all our kit with us for the duration of the trip. Nothing getting ferried about on the island and we will be at the helm of our own kayaks, no doubles, every man for himself!! We will also wild camp at the end of the day. I am sure you will agree this is an extremely treacherous challenge. Please show your support to the boys and my Dad by donating whatever you can. Please may I also ask if you can share this page far and wide on social media in order to raise the profile for “Paddling For Dementia” as much as possible? Please also use a cheeky #Paddlingfordementia. THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP!