Throughout the months of September and October, 40 memory walks took place across the country to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer's Society. I took part in the Windsor memory walk with my mum; we raised £270. Being there was very important for me as dementia affected two of my family members and I have grown up seeing the effects of it. The walk had a genuinely beautiful community atmosphere, I spoke to one of the walkers who said "It's a really special event because you know everyone here has a story" Dementia is the name of symptoms coming from diseases, usually Alzheimer's disease or Vascular dementia. Common symptoms are memory loss, changes in behaviour, sight and hearing loss and even hallucinations. There are over 400 types of dementia and according to the Alzheimer's Society, there are currently 850,000 people in the UK with dementia meaning someone develops dementia every three minutes. Alzheimer's Society uses the money they raise to develop testing to find different kinds of dementia that are previously undiagnosed, they also research how to put dementia care into action in the best ways as well as discovering new and innovative ways to advance potential cures for dementia. These community events, like the Memory Walk, are not just important for the treatments, but also so people who have experienced losses caused by dementia can gain a feeling of solidarity and community. They bring with them a sense of warmth and hope, that I have not found anywhere else.
