We've had quite a number of people in our family with dementia over the years, but the person whose experience I was closest to was my Mum. Here she is aged 23 with my oldest brother.
As it happens, her ten-year experience with Alzheimer's Disease and vascular dementia was a gift to me, – it was the start of my own dementia journey with Many Happy Returns, developing products and services to help us connect better with older people who have dementia – who most of us know so little about.
Two more of her family – her brother Dick (far right) and sister Betty (2nd right) also had Alzheimer's Disease and dementia respectively.
But I don't want to forget my Dad's side of the family. My Great Aunties May (3rd from left) and Lulla (far right) also had it. Here they are with my father's mother (fer left). They were lovely women and huge fun. (Note the hilarious, gigantic fur gloves...) Thanks to their longish stays with us over time, I learnt to really enjoy the company of older people and never wanted them to leave.
So on this day, I'm remembering them all with great affection and also thinking about all the other families that I know – and don't know – who are affected by this cruel disease.
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