I will be walking in memory of my mum, Joan Ellis, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2006 and died four years later at the age of 86.  

My mum had always been strong and resilient: she'd had the courage to leave an unworkable marriage and raise five kids on her own, with little support and very little money.  So it was heart-breaking to watch as she become more and more confused and anxious, and overwhelmed by everyday life.  She seemed to return to the past, to her younger self, and couldn't understand why she couldn't go home to her mum and dad, or why she didn't have to go to work today. I hardly recognised this person as my mother and felt her loss long before she actually died.  I was at least fortunate that she always seemed to recognise me as someone close to her, though sometimes didn't know whether I was her mother, her daughter, or her sister.  The last four years of her life were also, without doubt, the most challenging of mine.

My story is far from unique.  There are around 800,000 people in the UK with dementia and there is currrently no cure. And it doesn't just affect old poeple -  there are at least 17,000 people in the UK who developed dementia before they were 65.

That's why I am asking you to please sponsor me to take part in the Memory Walk this year, as a tribute to my mum, and others like her, and to raise much needed funds for Alzheimer's Society.  All of the money raised will help support people living with dementia and their families, and to work towards finding a cure .

Your donation, however small, will make a huge difference.  Thank you.