Extreme Knitting Redhead: This is it!

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

This is it!

I can't tell you how I excited I am to be typing this.

Alzheimer's Research UK (ARUK) and the Alzheimer's Society have joined forces for the next 12 months to create a Dementia Revolution and become the official charity partner at the Virgin London Marathon 2019.

Oh my goodness, I have dreamt about this for 13 years since I ran my first ever London marathon. Back then ARUK was known as the Alzheimer's Research Trust and the reason I chose to support them rather than the Alzheimer's Society was that they were a small charity with big ideas, such big ideas, about research to cure this dreadful disease. The charity has now grown into a major force in the fight against dementia and this collaboration with the Alzheimer's Society will bring dementia to the fore and give the cause the high profile it deserves.

If you check out the site you'll find a photo of me here http://www.dementiarevolution.org/run/fundraise/fundraising-tips as I gave a list of ideas that have worked for me over the years. I also shared training tips and I expect the site will evolve over the next 12 months.

You can read more about the alliance here.

This really is a wonderful platform to draw attention to dementia.

No comments:

Post a Comment

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.