Helen Greig

Why I’m Walking for Dementia Awareness This September

The alarm went off at 5:30am this morning.

After a disturbed night’s sleep with my children, getting up at that time was definitely not the easiest thing to do. I had planned to get up and go for a walk every morning from 1st September anyway, but when the alarm went off, I was very tempted to stay in bed.

One of my daughters was awake too and somehow that resulted in her coming along with me.

So, at 5:30am, rather than climbing back under the duvet, we got ourselves ready and headed out for our morning walk.

And as tired as I was, I’m really glad we did.

A new routine

I’d already decided that I wanted to make walking part of my daily routine from the 1st of September. I wanted to start my mornings differently, get outside, get some exercise and hopefully create a habit that would be good for both my physical and mental wellbeing.

Then I saw a fundraiser for dementia and thought that perhaps I could use these walks to do something more.

If I’m going to be getting up every morning and walking anyway, why not try to raise some money for a charity at the same time?

It gives those early starts a little more meaning and, hopefully, means that something positive can come from those mornings when I’m tired and would much rather stay in bed.

Why dementia?

Until relatively recently, dementia was something I’d never really thought about.

It was one of those illnesses that I knew existed, but it didn’t feel particularly close to me. That changed when my auntie was diagnosed.

Seeing someone you love experience dementia is incredibly difficult.

There’s something heartbreaking about watching someone change when you have memories of who they were before. I look at my auntie now and think about the person I remember — the things she used to do, the conversations we had, her personality — and it can be really difficult to process how much has changed.

It has made me realise just how devastating dementia can be, not only for the person living with it but also for their family and the people around them.

The frightening thought of the future

There’s another reason this cause has become much more personal to me.

Because my auntie has dementia, there’s always that thought in the back of my mind that it could potentially affect my siblings or me in the future.

None of us knows what the future holds.

It’s a frightening thought, but it has also made me realise how important it is to support research, awareness and the charities working to help people affected by dementia.

Maybe one day, hopefully, there will be better treatments, more understanding and perhaps even ways of preventing dementia altogether.

One walk at a time

So, this September, I’m going to keep walking.

Some mornings I might be full of energy and ready to get out the door. Other mornings, especially after nights like last night, I’m sure I’ll be wondering why I ever came up with the idea!

But I’m going to remind myself that every walk is doing something positive.

It’s good for me, it’s time outside, it’s something I can hopefully enjoy with my children — and, through the fundraiser, it can hopefully help support a cause that has become very close to my heart.

This morning, my daughter came with me. It wasn’t quite how I had imagined starting my September walking challenge, but perhaps it was actually the perfect way to begin.

One tired mum, one early morning, one little walking companion — and a reason to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

If my walks can help raise even a small amount of money for dementia, then those early alarms will be more than worth it.

Here’s to September, early mornings, lots of steps and hopefully making a small difference along the way. ❤️