Jordan Hollowday

My Motivation

I’m taking part in the “36 Golf Holes in a Day” challenge for Dementia UK because Dementia is sadly a very close part of my life.

In 2018, my partner Beth’s mother, Helen, was diagnosed with early onset Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA), a very rare form of Dementia. PCA is a progressive Dementia where the cells at the back of the brain (posterior) are degenerated usually caused by Alzheimer’s disease. However, unlike Alzheimer’s, PCA tends to affect visual and spatial awareness first rather than memory. This can lead to trouble judging distances, reading, writing and later, language difficulties and general cognitive decline. 

In Helen’s case, this was picked up in her deteriorating driving ability, displacement of personal items (keys, phone etc.) and her instruction following. In April 2020, when COVID hit, Beth and myself decided to move Helen into our pokey 2 bedroom flat in High Wycombe so we could keep an eye on her and help care for her while still affording her independence. We enjoyed a good year and a half of laughs and memories and finding endless teabags in the kettle! 

When we bought our house in 2021, we luckily found one with a downstairs bedroom with its own en-suite, again, affording Helen her own independence and with her depth perception declining, having to go up and down stairs solo was going to quickly become difficult for her. We got an (extremely large!) fish tank so when Beth and I were out at work, while she loved watching her nature documentaries, she could happily sit watching the plethora of tropical fish we kept.

Sadly, as the disease progressed and Helen started to need more professional help with tasks, we quickly found we were being overwhelmed looking after her while also working and living ourselves. We made the decision to move Helen into a fully assisted home nearby to us where they could provide much more detailed round the clock care than we could provide without leaving work and caring full time. There, Helen was able to still bimble around safely (boy does she walk for miles!) and we would visit regularly for coffee and cakes (and the occasional Gin).

Unfortunately, as is the way with this terrible disease, Helen continued to decline and as a slightly more aggressive fight or flight response developed in her, she was sectioned under the mental health act and moved to a more specialist home where she is now. Helen is now mostly non verbal which I’m sure frustrates her trying to convey her feelings but has wonderful moments of random clarity in which a simple forehead kiss from Beth can calm her down and lead to giggles from her. Whilst her recollection is certainly dwindling, Helen is still a wonderful woman who has been through a lot and tackling this disease bit by bit. She may be losing the battle against it but she’s a fighter and has already surpassed any expectations for anyone battling this horrendous disease.

As such, in solidarity with her exemplary fighting personality and her love of a peaceful walk through nature, I have decided to take on this “36 Golf Holes in a Day” challenge so I too can enjoy a (not so) peaceful walk through nature playing a sport I enjoy and will be thinking of Helen the entire way through. 

I have only known Helen for a short period of my life yet I feel like I’ve known her forever. The stories I’ve been told of her tenacity and determination before I knew her translates through to the Helen I know and respect.

If you can help support Helen or others who also go through this terrible ordeal, please donate using the links on this page and hopefully, this can help make the experience that bit better for someone else in the future.

Jordan