Paul Parkes
40 x 40 GNR
Fundraising for Alzheimer's Research UK
Story
My Gran (the famous lollipop lady and phantom farter) started to show some very strange behaviours and was very hard to communicate with towards the end of her 94 year life. Many doctors saw her and wrote it off as her being a quirky old woman, we now know that it was Dementia.
I've completed lots of Dementia training since then and they always say not to say someone suffers from Dementia, they are living with it. I would argue with this... the way that dementia can hack away at someone's mind is horrendous and devastating to everyone involved.
I was incredibly lucky to have managed to catch my Gran on a good day on my wedding day and have the most amazing memories and photos, but I'll be honest, that was one of my biggest worries in the planning of the day. Shortly after my wedding, my Gran passed away, but in reality she was just the shell of her former self then.
Anyway, x-factor sob story done... I found out recently that my friend Marge is getting a motley crew of 40 like minded idiots together to raise money for Alzheimer's research uk by running the great north run. The idea being to raise £1000 each, totalling £40,000! I had to jump in on that. So I signed up.
Then... I thought about it. Crap! I hate running. I have glass knees. I have no rich friends who can feel sorry for me and chuck a grand into the funding. What have I agreed to this for?!
Easy, read onto the bit I've nicked.
The reality of research into dementia
At £24 billion each year, dementia costs the UK economy more than cancer and heart disease combined, but over two thirds of the care for dementia patients is paid for by themselves or their family.
Dementia research currently gets 13 times less funding than cancer so it needs all the support it can get.
Most of us know someone living with dementia – today there’s over 850,000 people diagnosed in the UK, but this is predicted to reach 2 million by 2051.
What your donation will go towards
Alzheimer’s Research UK receive no government funding for their research and are completely dependent on supporters to fund their research programme:
£20 raised pays for 1 hour of pioneering dementia research
£100 raised could provide the tools for scientists to map 10,000 genes in minute detail, identifying targets for the development of new treatments
£500 raised will cover the cost of a sensitive brain scan for a patient involved in a research study, tracking the effectiveness of new drug treatments, improving diagnosis and better understanding how diseases like Alzheimer’s wreak their havoc in the brain
£1000 raised will pay for reagents, unique chemicals that are crucial for successfully growing cells in a laboratory ready for disease study
£2500 raised will allow researchers to buy synthetically made amyloid, to better understand this hallmark Alzheimer’s protein in the lab.
Thank you for any contribution you make.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
I've completed lots of Dementia training since then and they always say not to say someone suffers from Dementia, they are living with it. I would argue with this... the way that dementia can hack away at someone's mind is horrendous and devastating to everyone involved.
I was incredibly lucky to have managed to catch my Gran on a good day on my wedding day and have the most amazing memories and photos, but I'll be honest, that was one of my biggest worries in the planning of the day. Shortly after my wedding, my Gran passed away, but in reality she was just the shell of her former self then.
Anyway, x-factor sob story done... I found out recently that my friend Marge is getting a motley crew of 40 like minded idiots together to raise money for Alzheimer's research uk by running the great north run. The idea being to raise £1000 each, totalling £40,000! I had to jump in on that. So I signed up.
Then... I thought about it. Crap! I hate running. I have glass knees. I have no rich friends who can feel sorry for me and chuck a grand into the funding. What have I agreed to this for?!
Easy, read onto the bit I've nicked.
The reality of research into dementia
At £24 billion each year, dementia costs the UK economy more than cancer and heart disease combined, but over two thirds of the care for dementia patients is paid for by themselves or their family.
Dementia research currently gets 13 times less funding than cancer so it needs all the support it can get.
Most of us know someone living with dementia – today there’s over 850,000 people diagnosed in the UK, but this is predicted to reach 2 million by 2051.
What your donation will go towards
Alzheimer’s Research UK receive no government funding for their research and are completely dependent on supporters to fund their research programme:
£20 raised pays for 1 hour of pioneering dementia research
£100 raised could provide the tools for scientists to map 10,000 genes in minute detail, identifying targets for the development of new treatments
£500 raised will cover the cost of a sensitive brain scan for a patient involved in a research study, tracking the effectiveness of new drug treatments, improving diagnosis and better understanding how diseases like Alzheimer’s wreak their havoc in the brain
£1000 raised will pay for reagents, unique chemicals that are crucial for successfully growing cells in a laboratory ready for disease study
£2500 raised will allow researchers to buy synthetically made amyloid, to better understand this hallmark Alzheimer’s protein in the lab.
Thank you for any contribution you make.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.