Extreme Knitting Redhead: Wow for Wonderful Wendy

Monday, February 12, 2018

Wow for Wonderful Wendy

Somebody I Used to Know

I can't believe I forgot to write about this, so sorry Wendy! The Wendy to whom I am referring is the lovely Wendy Mitchell who blogs at which me am I today? and her book 'Somebody I Used to Know' has just been published.

If you look on the right side of my blog you'll see her having a chat with me before the launch of Join Dementia Research (JDR). She is a truly lovely lady and a shining beacon of hope for people in a similar situation as her with early-onset Alzheimer's. She was 58 at the time of diagnosis in 2014 and she was determined to carry on with as near normal a life as possible whilst acknowledging the restrictions her conditions imposed upon her. In her words "I want to do something now - I don't want to just sit here and wait for this disease to make its march on my mind".

The book has received excellent reviews in the newspapers but when the Alzheimer's Society posted details on Facebook I noticed there were some negative comments, such as 'there's no good side to having dementia", ironically because she is so optimistic. I see both sides.

Having spoken with a lot of people with early-onset Alzheimer's they all say that they have to stay positive otherwise they'd just give up and I fully understand that. It was speaking with Wendy that made me very aware of the words I use when talking about dementia. People told me that they hated the expression "suffering from dementia", which I used to say when talking about my mum, because they don't want to feel like victims. I respect that and now say that she "lived with dementia" which at least makes people feel that they still have some control over their condition.

Wendy says "Dementia can be a lonely world to live in" and notes "people assume you can't participate". I think she serves as a shining example of how you can still have a good quality of life whilst dealing with the restrictions the condition imposes upon her. Well done lovely lady.

A Brace of Ultras

I'm really short of time at the moment so I'll just leave this photo here with a few words:

On Saturday it was cold, it rained and I got wet whilst running 31.5 miles but got that massive silver medal. On Sunday it was bitterly cold, there was a biting wind and there was a bit of 'snail' (that's my description of a combination of sleet and hail which pounded onto my head!) and I ran 29 miles and got the Music Legends medal on the left.

When I booked these events I could have run today too but chose to take a day of rest and to run tomorrow instead. Today, whilst cold and a bit blowy, is lovely and bright but the forecast for tomorrow is RAIN. Deep joy!

They were marathons 139 & 140.

A Quick Show of Carbeth

It took a few days to dry

I used Mel's clever idea of inserting a plate in the collar to keep it a good shape

Mike was busy when I needed photos so I improvised with the easy but not very attractive bathroom mirror technique coupled with Photo-booth on my computer!

I made this specifically to be worn over this dress which is a favourite I wear for speaking opportunities for Alzheimer's Research UK when worn with a jacket but I wanted something less formal as an alternative.

I have about 4" of positive ease and it sits nicely above my waist.

It does sit away from my back like Kate's model does but I couldn't show it because when I lifted my arms out of the way it moved towards my waist!

I love the whole thing and am really pleased with how the neckline sits. I may have to make another in purple........

Right, that's it for now as I need to prepare for another ultra tomorrow.

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Mum's Story

In 1997 my mother, then aged 81, had a series of minor strokes. Shortly after that we started to notice behavioural changes notably memory loss and confusion over everyday items. We thought it was just old age finally catching up with her. Then she started wandering and had violent mood swings. Although she already lived with us it became obvious that she couldn't be left alone for long and so I left my job to care for her. The next few years saw a gradual decline into the blackness that is 'vascular dementia'. My normally placid mum became violent and aggressive. She had psychotic incidents where she would see imaginary people (children hiding in her wardrobe, Russians sitting on the stairs, women stealing her clothes) and she would shout at them and sometimes throw things too. She was so convincing that we used to go and check that there wasn't anyone there! When my sister died mum did not know who Judy was or that she was her daughter. There came a point when I suddenly realised she no longer knew that I was her daughter and this was a terrible time for me. In the last 2 years that she lived with us, life for us all became almost unbearable as she needed 24 hour care - she couldn't be left alone at all because she would either wander off or hurt herself, she never slept for more than 30 minutes at a time during the night, she became incontinent and incapable of doing anything for herself. Finally my husband and I realised that we could no longer provide her with the care that she needed and she went to live in a special care home where the team did a splendid job caring for her in the last few months of her life. There she lived a zombified existence unaware of who she was, what she was or where she was. It was heartbreaking. She died in March 2005, the day after her 89th birthday.

Thank you for taking the time to read mum's story and I hope you'll dig deep and sponsor me using the link below to help find a way of beating this destructive disease.