Hello you lovely people,

I don't like talking about this as it's something that is very close to me. But if it's for a good cause, why not?

When my Grandad was 70, he was diagnosed with a disease called Lewy Body Dementia. Unlike what I usually assumed 'dementia' to mean, this largely leaves memory intact, rather hindering functions such as thinking, visual perception and muscle movement. Dementia with Lewy bodies is caused by clumps of protein forming inside brain cells. These abnormal deposits are called Lewy bodies. These deposits are also found in people with Parkinson's disease. So if you have not heard of it before, think a bit of Parkinson's and a bit of Dementia all rolled into one (shit) disease.

When I was a child, my Grandad was a superhero in my eyes. He could go from working on one of his vintage cars, to playing with myself and Ella in the garden, to producing one hell of a roast chicken all in the space of an afternoon. To be honest, I don't think I even recall the man breaking a sweat whilst doing so. Since his diagnosis, the change in him has been both drastic and heart breaking. As Lewy Body Dementia is a degenerative disease with no cure or way to slow it down, all my family has been able to do in this time is make him as comfortable and happy as possible. My Grandad always used to tell me that if someone hits you, you hit them back even harder (much to my Mum's displeasure of course!). If he can't hit back at it, then I will.

I know my family misses the man he was before his diagnosis, but I like to think he's still there, just this awful disease is hiding him. Hiding the man who would wake up at 4am on Christmas Day to make chocolate Croissants with me, or who would arrive for a sleepover with a bucket of KFC big enough to feed all of Portsmouth, or who would make me cry with laughter as I wound him up at the dinner table by calling his roast chicken dry (it never was).

That's basically why I've set myself the goal of running 70 miles and cycling 70 miles in the space of 30 days and is why I'm here asking you to donate to my chosen charity, the Lewy Body Society.

The Lewy Body Society is one of the only charities that specialises specifically in Lewy Body Dementia. It was founded in 2006 to support research into LBD and to raise awareness of the disease. It's aim is to educate the public, the medical professions and those in decision-making positions about the disease, which unfortunately is still not well known.

You can find their website here: https://www.lewybody.org/

My goal is to complete the total of 140 miles in the space of 30 days starting from this Saturday 6th January (06/01/2024) and I will have until Monday 5th February (05/02/2024) to do so.

Please donate what you can, if you can!

This one's for you Grandad.

Your Mucker, always.