Local resident Helen Johns has set herself another challenge in her bid to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society’s Cycle for Dementia.
Last month she completed 100 miles on her exercise bike in her quest – which was three times more than she had cycled in a month previously. In the process she has raised over £1000 for her chosen charity.
This month she has vowed to complete the same mileage again.
On her JustGiving page, Helen says ” I’m supporting the Alzheimer’s Society’s Cycle for Dementia
campaign because the Society is doing fantastic work to help fund the cost of care for dementia sufferers and to help fund research for a disease that affects 850,000 in the UK and for which there is currently no cure. It is estimated that 1.6 million people in the UK will suffer from this cruel disease by 2040. We have heard on the news that care homes have been hardest hit with Covid-19, and 70% of dementia sufferers are in care homes. The impact of the virus weighs heavily on society and also on the need to support people at risk, such as dementia sufferers.
It’s affected my family and friends …
I will never forget what happened to my father, a previously
fit and healthy man in his 70s, who was used to doing long walks as an active member of the Ramblers Association. His dementia symptoms first showed when he began to lose spatial awareness and soon could no longer lead people on countryside walks. His condition deteriorated to the point where the difficult decision had to be taken to move him into a care home and I had to sell his house to fund his care. Initially he took part in leisure activities in the care home and continued to enjoy hearing classical music, but these interests faded until he was scarcely recognisable as my father, and his last years could hardly be termed as living. He died after 7 years in care and it was a merciful release when it came. Although we tend to think of dementia as a disease affecting the elderly, it also affects younger people, and over 42,000 people under 65 have dementia. A friend of mine whom I had known since we were at university together developed early onset dementia in her 60s and died in the prime of her life from this unforgiving disease. “
To assist Helen please visit her JustGiving page
