Extreme Knitting Redhead: Walking amongst Champions

Friday, February 11, 2011

Walking amongst Champions

On 9th February, Mike and I had the honour of attending the launch of Alzheimer's Research UK at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. Mike plays the very important role of 'back-room boy' in my fund-raising activities and this often doesn't get a mention so I was very pleased that he came too. He's the one who mops up my tears when my training doesn't go as planned, kicks me out of the door when I'd rather stay curled up in bed and waits patiently at the end of the marathon to greet his tired, sweaty and over-emotional wife!

The evening was hosted by Julian Huppert MP for Cambridge which is where the charity is based.

It's a very exciting time for Dementia research and I am proud to play a small part in the changes in attitude and awareness that are taking place. If only we could get the funding in place we'd have a chance of better understanding this devastating disease.

As soon as we walked in we were greeted by Sue who's the Media Officer and with whom I have a great deal of contact via email and the phone but rarely see in person. Sadly I haven't got a photo of her and must make sure I get one next time we meet.

She introduced us to lots of different people, the first being Jamie and Vicki Graham who raised the amazing sum of £90,000 for research into Dementia. Jamie was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 3 years ago at the age of 59 and he and Vicki have worked tirelessly to raise this staggering amount of money for research. I felt myself getting a bit teary as I listened to her talking about the Jamie she knew and loved who is gradually being taken away by this cruellest of diseases.

There were many of us there who have the honour of being named Champions in recognition of the things we have done to support research into Dementia. We each have our own story to tell and I felt very humble hearing about other peoples experiences.

One person I hoped would be there was Dione Priddy. Her husband Mark was just 36 when he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Dione decided to do something positive by running the 2010 Virgin London Marathon to raise money for dementia research and give hope to future generations. Sadly, Mark passed away just two weeks before the run but Dione was determined to go ahead and raised £18,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK. I'd read her story before the marathon last year and really hoped that she'd run past me so I could give her a hug,

I was very glad to have met Dione at last and her 2 lovely daughters, Eleanor and Bethany. We chatted with ease and decided that we'd like to do some fund-raising together so we've exchanged email addresses.

Rebecca Wood, Chief Executive, on the right of the photo, spoke with passion about the need for more funding into Dementia and Professor Julie Williams gave an optimist insight into current leaps in understanding the disease. She pointed out that Dementia research is at the same stage as Cancer Research was 20 years ago and said that with investment we could be looking at a positive outlook for Dementia.

Let's hope so.

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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.