Today was my last day to complete my 50 mile challenge for Dementia Uk. Weather really cold but seemed perfect for running. I have not got much to say about the run other than an overwhelming sense of achievement filled with sadness and happiness. Total raised for charity £605.
Hope this helps in some way to anyone who has a mother, father, grandparents , family members or friends touched by Dementia.
In memory Mam ❤️
Written by
Dups
Graduate10
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Congratulations 🥳 on completing your challenge and bless you and thank you - my dad has dementia and it’s such a cruel way to finish life - so your efforts will be gratefully received I’m sure
Congratulations to you Dups for completing your 50 mile challenge for Dementia UK, well done, congratulations on raising £605 for the charity, sadly my wife died of that terrible illness in February 2010.
So sorry to here that your wife died of this illness. It is both a long hard journey for them and also for family who love them.
So after starting the C25k during lockdown, it not only helped me get through the grieving process, it gave me a purpose and inspired me to do something good for such a worthy cause 😊
I love this ❤ I'm a side by side telephone volunteer for The Alzheimer's Society and think what you have achieved is absolutely incredible. You rightly deserve to feel proud 🙂
Thank you 🙏. We need more people like you to give that vital support to sufferers and their families. I have had the most difficult and emotional six years watching the decline of my dear mam, and having volunteers like yourself to help and support us has been invaluable....So thank you to you ❤️
Great and wonderful job Dups, you should be mightily proud of yourself. My dad had Dementia; until he retired he’d been a Professor of property law. It hits everyone just the same, he had a very sharp mind and in the end it’d mostly gone.......but he still squeezed my hand every time I saw him. He died in April aged 87 from Covid in his care home at the height of that scandal. Such a shame. Dups I salute you wholeheartedly and more than that I also thank you.
Thank you🙏 Sorry to hear of your loss. It must have been so hard for you to lose him to Covid. My mam died in February just before lockdown. It really is so sad. There is not a day goes past where I don’t think about her. We have to cherish and treasure all the memories we made with them.
The fact he squeezed your hand... he knew that you were there and he was loved ❤️
Well done Dups. I'm on the same challenge. I have one more run of 3.5 miles to go. I have only raise £210 so far, but it all helps.My dad died with Alzheimer's just over a year ago.
Well done Steady_ Stevve😀 so sorry to hear about your Dad. There are so many people who have been or are effected with someone who has Alzheimer’s/Dementia .
£210 pounds is a brilliant amount! Add that to mine, and to Catsrun who is also doing this challenge and it all adds up to something amazing👍🏻
In the film of Mary Poppins, all the pennies add up to make the pounds😊
Good luck tomorrow on your last 3.5 miles. It is a amazing thing what you are doing and anyone else who has took this challenge. Today has been an emotional day mixed with sadness and happiness.
Thank you Dups , Hidden and Steady_Stevve . My Dad died aged 90, but in all honesty vascular dementia took him years earlier. I can only hope he wasn't aware of what he'd become (and I didn't see the worst of it, since he and my Mum had moved to live with my brother in Australia) because he would have been absolutely horrified.
We can only hope. I think you echo what all of us think. They would be horrified. I wait for one day that there is a break through to slow down and better still a cure to this disease.
What an amazing challenge and achievement Dups, you should be so proud. So sorry to hear of your loss. I also lost my dear Mum 5 years ago this month to Alzheimer’s. It’s an evil and heartbreaking disease, as you rightly say for the sufferer and the family.
Let’s just hope and pray that with people like you raising money and awareness, something can be done to alleviate the nightmare.
Thank you so much. I have read some really sad posts relating to this subject. It really is a nightmare, and as you say we can only hope and pray that something emerges that will alleviate the suffering of so many people.Thank you for kind words.
Well done Dups - a fantastic achievement & amount raised. I did 100k for AR UK after my mum died of Alzheimer's 3 years ago. It is the cruellest of diseases. Thank you to Hidden too for continuing to volunteer with the Alzheimer's Society. I still support both charities - and will never forget the support I received on numerous occasions from the help line volunteers and talk boards on the forum. 🙏♥️
Thank you so much for running this Dups. It means a lot and such a wonderful amount you have raised too. As I write this I can hear mum in her bedroom and I know that there is nothing I can do to slow down her illness except care and be here for her and make the most of every moment we have together. She’s still in the early stages and I don’t know quite what is coming but for now we’re coping ok.
As I am reading this I can feel the tears come again. All I can say is there will be good days and bad days, but cherish every moment. My advice is when you feel you can’t cope, get help. As a family we didn’t and struggled on until the mental health team took the decision from us. We felt that as her children we would be letting her down, and she meant the world to us. Mam had Lewy Bodies Dementia and ended up bed ridden and we couldn’t manage to work and care for her. My mental health suffered as a result. What I am trying to say is take help when it is required and enjoy the good times still left to come. Every moment is precious, but look after you too .
Look after your mam but take care of yourself too ❤️
Thank you Dups. I have my brother to help too but he’s not well and just out of radio therapy. We both love running and we run together usually but he’s struggling right now. He did say he might be up for a run later today or tomorrow though which I’m really looking forward to! I need to find out more about what help and support is out there as I’m not very good at asking for help, and I will take good care of myself. Running gives me strength and focus which I love.
You really have got a lot to cope with at the moment. It sounds like things are really challenging at the moment. It is best to find out what services are available in your local area, just so you don’t have the added pressure when you need extra help. Never be frightened to ask for help, it is the way forward to ensure your mam gets the help she needs and you also get the support you will need. GTFC is on this forum and is a volunteer for Alzheimer’s. Maybe you could get some advice there as well.
Your running is a great outlet which you enjoy, and that’s brilliant, because that’s your time.
Thank you Dups. I have a meeting with social services soon to get extra help in. 👍 I don’t dwell on it all too much. Thank God I have my running though! 👍😀
Well done Dups. If you still have a fundraising page open I would be happy to add to your amazing total - send me a link. My mother has dementia and as everyone has said, it is a harsh disease and especially challenging in lockdown, with so few community facilities available. Well done again, you must be very proud. 👏🏼👏🏼
It really is a good course, and is close to my heart. I hope that the contributions of my family and my wonderful working colleagues make a difference, because they have encouraged me on all the way through this challenge.
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