March 2024

13 Buckden Roundabout March 2024 ‘84 at 84’ supporting Dementia UK At first we noticed little moments of confusion and things were being forgotten. One night, woken at 2.00am by the telephone, it was my mother calling from a hotel manager ’ s office in Agadir to tell me my father had died. Instinct signalled an urgent rescue but how to get to Morocco in the middle of the night? My prayers were answered with the only seat available – the ‘ jump seat ’ be- tween pilot and copilot on the flight deck of a charter tour depar- ture from Gatwick – quite an experience! By 12 noon that very same morning I was in the hotel ’ s office but my mother was no- where to be found! Many months later I received another call. This time from a vicar about a gathering in his vicarage. My mother was handing back their coats to guests who had only just arrived and he thought I should know. The diagnosis was vascular dementia. As she was still living alone we five, her children, met to hatch a plan of ac- tion. We learned to go along with her surreal world of imagined events since arguing about realities only led to disagreements. We arranged care and reassured the local shopkeepers we would make good any oversights in payment. We ferried her to our different homes and eventually arranged costly 24 hour live - in care, spending much of our inheritance. This was all many years ago. Our eldest son James and I had long held an ambition to walk a coast - to - coast path together. At my 84th birthday gathering last year I unwrapped his present to reveal a guidebook to the Hadri- an ’ s Wall Path. “ How far is that? ” – a quick turn of the pages gave the answer: 84 miles – and the idea of ‘84 at 84’ was born. “ We could raise some money, any ideas for a good cause? ”. Without any hesitation the family were unanimous in suggesting dementia. Some on - line research led us to the charity, Dementia UK and its specialist Admiral Nurs- es, who seemed to be dementia ’ s equivalent of cancer ’ s Macmillan nurses. James and I reckoned that was ‘ just the ticket ’. Reviews were all good and I was soon in touch with a delightful and enthusi- astic fundraising team. Fast forward a couple of months and a Volunteer Ambassador from Dementia UK is speaking to the congregation in Buckden parish church where Dementia UK is the adopted charity for May and June. Urmila informs us she ’ s not an Admiral Nurse herself but a retired IT businessperson. Discovering the amazing work of Dementia UK, she is captivated by what they do and explains to us how Admiral Nurses are not carers but highly trained specialists. The impact of dementia can be a real upset and even devastating to whole families and everyone involved. It is as widespread as cancer but compared with cancer there are far too few trained professionals. There is an urgent need for many hundreds more Admiral Nurses to help families understand and cope with the condition. Last June England was blessed with a glorious week of sunshine. It found us just 50 metres from Hadrian ’ s Wall happily installed with our wives in a double en - suite Airbnb on the Cumbria/ Northumberland border. At first the prospect of finding stop - over accommodation and moving on our luggage at such a busy time of year was pretty daunting. But Rachel and Sarah, growing ever more enthusiastic, offered to be the support party and our pray- ers were answered yet again with this well equipped accommoda- tion, plus its own courtyard and vestibule for walking gear and Sarah ’ s dog – perfect! The walk proved to be a challenge indeed but the scenery was magnificent in the sunshine. We had a great time explaining about Admiral Nurses to people we met along the way, with all but one having never heard of them. Donations rolled in both on line and off as folk followed our progress – from people behind the bar where we quenched our thirst and from total strangers. We real- ised our trek was as much about raising awareness of dementia as it was about raising funds for more Admiral Nurses. Day two was the hardest as we aimed to reach our base at Gilsland, 18 miles away. Day three was the hottest at 28°C and by lunch time we had had enough, calling it a day, but thrilled to find ourselves at the halfway point. The central section is stunning with much climbing and even a rock scramble. From there on it was downhill into Newcastle where we were met by a friend of James to point out the sights, reaching the Wallsend finish point on day six just be- fore the visitor centre closed. To mark our efforts De- mentia UK sent an Admi- ral Nurse to visit us later in the year. Gayle (pictured right) runs the charity ’ s Admiral Nurse Academy, where these specialists develop their skills and knowledge and support each other. Her enthusiasm is infectious and by the end of the visit we had gained a much deeper understanding of the scope of the work, the knowledge and skill provided and the extent of ongoing development. Admiral Nurses ’ core work is helping whole families to cope with dementia. They also support best practice in hospi- tals and community settings, give specialist guidance to other health and social care professionals and help carers through the stress of working with dementia. While managing debilitating situations their aim is to maximise the quality of life and personal identity of each individual. Dementia UK ’ s support work includes local dementia clinics, a free confidential helpline, and appoint- ments by phone and video for anyone in the UK. Currently there are nearly 450 Admiral Nurses which works out at just one for every 8 Macmillan Nurses. Subject to sufficient charitable support the aim is at least to triple this number. Coming face to face with the degree of dedication at the heart of Dementia UK made our summertime effort seem enormously worthwhile. One sponsor reckoned 84 at 84 was an ambition too far and with a rueful smile handed the tally of £1 per mile in bags of £1 coins. James, though based in Coventry is a true Buckdenite from his childhood and schooldays. The top donation of £1,000 came through his Coventry Motofest involvement commenting ‘ It ’ s a car thing ’. We say an enormous “ Thank You ” to our support- ers and well - wishers, “ By Christmas you had donated a grand total including Gift Aid of just over £10,000 ”. Useful links: https://www.dementiauk.org/about - us/what - we - do/ https://www.dementiauk.org/information - and - support/how - we - can - support - you/ https://www.dementiauk.org/helpline Richard Noble