Alongside fundraising to support people impacted by dementia, one of the aims of Remembering Not to Forget is to get people talking about dementia more openly, and for people to be aware that it’s possible to live well with dementia for a long time.
This blog will try to capture some thoughts on the Turnbull family’s journey with dementia, we’ll also use this space to share other relevant Remembering Not to Forget stories or updates.
This will be a short update of our latest, crazy challenge. Documenting the ups and downs of cycling “LEJOG”. Today was tough Following day 1 we were hopeful that, again, the route notes were not really reflective of the day that lay ahead. However, by the first brew stop it was clear that a long tough day […]
This will be a short update of our latest, crazy challenge. Documenting the ups and downs of cycling “LEJOG”. The Arrival So we arrive in Cornwall on Saturday evening after a slightly manic train ride and the nerves set in. However, we are housed in a beautiful Golf Club resort overlooking Cape Cornwall and we […]
It’s amazing how quickly things change. At the start of May I went home for a typical and unremarkable weekend. Mum was quiet but seemed happy and although slow and a bit doddery on her feet we walked to the park and threw her ball around. One night the care lady came while we were […]
We made a donation of £1000 from funds raised in 2016 to support the Alzheimer’s Society campaigning work. They asked us to write a blog for their website explaining why we chose to make this donation, the blog below also features on the Alzheimer’s Society website. We are ‘lucky’ in that Mum is entitled to […]
Increasingly Mum is silent. And typically when she does talk the words are jumbled and there is rarely any sense in what she says. Often basic requests such as “take your shoes off” or “sit down” take multiple attempts and encouragement before they are actioned. Yet a level of comprehension clearly remains some of the […]
Every family has their Christmas traditions. Mum used to make dozens and dozens of mince pies each year, giving them out to family and friends, to staff and patients at the hospice where she worked, and defrosting them to serve for pudding at family meals for the rest of the year (there are probably boxes […]
It’s been years since I’ve cried in front of Mum. My main role when I’m at home is chief cheerer-uper. Her mood is so fragile, and emotional memory so much stronger than factual memory, that any seemingly small upset can linger for ages. It’s impossible to cheer someone up when they can’t remember the reassurance […]
My sister recently happened across some emails written by my mum shortly after her Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2006. Helen sent them on to me, with a warning not to read them at work. I ignored her and opened them immediately, impatient to read my mum’s words, and ended up crying at my computer, hoping that […]
Mum used to have lots of stories. We grew up hearing about her childhood in Africa, boarding school in England, training to be a nurse, how she met our Dad, us as small children to name but a few regular topics. For a while, when the here and now started to slip away, the past […]
I have started wondering what Mum dreams about. I like to think that in her dream world things are the same as they ever were. That the night time hours are an escape from the fear that dogs her all day. The fact that she starts to ask if it’s time to go to bed […]
