Mum and Jayne
It was a battle to get my mum diagnosed with dementia nearly fourteen years ago now.
For three years my father and I would speak to mum’s GP about our worries but every time we were told ‘bring her to the surgery’. Mum would never go.
Another stressful two years passed and the strain of caring for Mum led Dad to suffer two heart attacks. There was no support. I battled the system and got Mum the help but first, she had to be admitted to an “institutional” elderly mental health unit and after a month in there she was formally diagnosed with vascular dementia.
Married for 65 years, mum and dad never spent one night apart until mum went into hospital and a care home. I saw how difficult that time was for both of them. The photo below was taken after my mum and dad were reunited after her lengthy spell in hospital and thereafter resumed seeing each other every day until both passed.
Add a Bloom to Our Mother’s Day Bouquet
No one should have to lose their mum to dementia. No one should forget their children and grandchildren’s faces. No one should see the mother of their children forget her achievements. Dementia is the UK’s leading cause of death and disproportionately affects women, both as patients and as carers. BRACE is funding research to find out why this is, but we need your help.
This Mother's Day weekend we are building a virtual Bouquet of Memories to honour the incredible women in our lives. We invite you to pick a flower, add a personal dedication, and make a donation, big or small, to help us reach our goal of £660: enough to fund 1 full week of life-changing dementia research. A week in which life-changing progress could be made.
How do I add a flower to the bouquet?
- Click the link below to take you to the bouquet webpage.
- Pick your flower: Select a spot on our bouquet to place your chosen flower.
- Add your dedication: Share a name, photo or a special message in her honour.
- Make a donation: Every gift, big or small, fuels world-class research to defeat dementia.
- Revisit your tribute as many times as you like, and see the bouquet grow.
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