is what people have said about what I am going to do. I’m going on a charity trek. I will be walking 70km across the Sahara.
From the flat desert floor scattered with ancient fossils, to perfect wind-blown sand-dunes, the trek is diverse and demanding. The vast desert is a truly beautiful place to discover, while the incredible star-strewn night skies are unforgettable. Accompanied by Berber guides and a caravan of camels, remote night-camps with camp-fires and Berber singing will be part of the experience.
How many people are living with dementia in the UK – about a million. And that is expected to rise significantly in the next 10-20 years. One in three of us are expected to develop it in our lifetime.
As I look at where we are going in the future I see good results for cancer research and excellent results in heart repair. So more of us will live longer – and more of us will be faced with either ourselves or family living with dementia.
I still remember a guy in the hospital bed beside me a few years ago that was about my age. He had a symptom called “confabulating”. He had an imaginary past – he shared a stage with the Beetles in his mind. He was happy – big smile – great (false) memories. But it isn’t like that for everybody – I’ve seen whole families struggle with a relative that is painfully rude and aggressive.
For me the ability to remember accurately a lot of information has been central to my work life. It strikes me that I would find it hard to cope if I lost that ability. And that will also be the case for so many of my past and present work colleagues. Many of them I consider as part of the family. So when this challenge popped up in front of me I thought perhaps it was time to do something for those colleagues and those family members – in the hope that they will not go through a painful end to life.
Alzheimer’s Society is working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives. They do this by giving help to those living with dementia today, and providing hope for the future.