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Jessica Smith

Walk 31 Miles in May 2026

Help me reach my goal of £150

Join the Facebook group for Walk 31 miles in May challenge.

I'm walking 31 Miles in May for Dementia UK

This May, I’m walking 31 miles to raise funds so that no family has to face dementia alone.

My friend is living with dementia. She’s turning 90 this year, still physically strong and full of that stubborn spark that makes her who she is. But dementia doesn’t care about strength. It chips away at confidence, independence, and the small routines that make a day feel like your own. Watching that happen to someone you care about is heartbreaking.

That’s why I’m doing this. Because families and carers deserve support. Because people living with dementia deserve dignity. And because specialist Admiral Nurses can make an enormous difference when things feel overwhelming.

If you’re able to donate, even a little, it genuinely helps. £33 could fund an hour of expert support for a family trying to navigate the hardest moments.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for any support you can give.

Please Help Me
Reach My Goal

Raised

£146 + £36.50 GiftAid

My Goal

£150

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My Achievements

Shared Page

Updated Profile Pic

Added a Blog Post

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Received 5 Donations

Reached Fundraising Goal

Increased Target Over £250

My Updates

Why am I doing this

Friday 1st May
Dementia doesn’t arrive all at once. It creeps into the edges of everyday life, first as small confusions, then as patterns, and eventually as a constant presence you adapt to without even realising you’ve changed.

For me, it’s become part of the rhythm of daily life because someone I care about, my friend and neighbour, is living with it. And when dementia moves into someone’s life, it moves into the lives of the people around them too.

Some days we get three knocks on the door or more to report that her car has been “stolen”. The truth is far sadder: the car was taken away when she could no longer drive safely, but in her mind it disappears again and again, each time as frightening as the first.

Other days she asks what day it is because she has “no calendars”, even though her house is full of them, collected over the years. She writes notes to help herself remember, but sometimes the notes are based on fear or confusion, and reading them shows me how scared she must be.

Her days and nights have become unpredictable. Sometimes she sleeps so long I worry the curtains haven’t been opened. Other times she’s awake all night, moving around the house, and I listen out to make sure she's ok.

This week, she was frightened when the doctor came. I sat with her while they took bloods and as someone who faints at the sight of a needle, that was a moment I didn’t expect to be capable of. But dementia changes the people around it too. It stretches you, softens you, and sometimes breaks your heart a little.

I love my friend. I remember the person she was. Sharp, funny, independent, proud. And I care for the person she is now, even when the two versions feel worlds apart. Supporting her has become part of my everyday life, merging into the school runs, the work calls, the dinners, the evenings.

And I know there will come a time when I won’t be able to help in the same way anymore. That’s the part that sits heavy. Loving someone through dementia means loving them while slowly letting go.

But for now, I do what I can. I show up. I answer the knocks. I reassure. I sit beside her when she’s scared. I adapt. And I hold onto the truth that she is still my friend - not defined by her confusion, but by the life she lived and the connection we still share.

Dementia is not just a condition. It’s a quiet reshaping of everyday life. And it deserves to be seen, understood, and talked about with honesty and compassion.

Thank you to my Sponsors

£33

Mum

Well done x

£30

Stu Beattie

Good luck Jess, such a great cause

£25

Mary Humphrey

Well done

£20

Rita Gulrajani

You will smash it like everything you do and this is for a fab cause.

£19

Ben And Shardha

Good luck.

£19

Christine Duchemin