Laura Johnson

Thursday Oct 1st - Farnley Hall Park - 2.1 miles

Thursday 1st Oct A beautiful day to start the challenge. I took Mum and Dad out to Farnley Hall Park this afternoon and we completed our 2 .1 miles by lapping the park. Share

Why I’m walking 62 miles in October

Thursday 1st Oct

I’ve decided to walk 62 miles this October for Dementia UK, and I wanted to explain why I’m doing it.

It was Christmas Day 2023 when I first noticed something wasn’t right with Dad. We were playing Monopoly and he was the banker, but he was getting really confused over the sums. Dad was a water treatment chemist and had always been good at science and maths, especially arithmetic. I teased him a little about getting older, but deep down I knew it was strange.

Then Mum got a phone call from his work saying he’d got lost on the way to a toilet on a site he knew well and had been told he could no longer drive on site.

Other strange behaviours followed. He became overly worried about finances, repeatedly took single pieces of rubbish outside, walking around the house each time, and became very particular about grammar.

We asked the GP for a memory clinic referral. Dad passed the dementia screen with flying colours. He knew where he was, the date and time, and could remember an address and repeat it later. But we knew the man who had once enjoyed teaching us calculus, and was now struggling with basic sums, had something going on.

After several months without an appointment, I asked what was happening with his referral. It turned out it had mistakenly never been put through. We started again, this time urgently.

Dad had a PET scan and in September 2024 we were given the devastating news that he had frontotemporal dementia (FTD). There was no alternative explanation.

As scientists, my sister and I started reading. We explored his gut microbiome, researched anything that might stall or reverse what was happening and we saw private specialists, but ultimately we were helpless. There was no family history, so Dad’s was classed as a sporadic case. When we asked what might have caused it, the answer was simply that they really didn’t know.

His symptoms progressed rapidly. In January 2026 he was admitted to hospital with pneumonia. He came home around a month later unable to walk. The following month he was readmitted with pulmonary emboli. Again we feared the worst, but again he pulled through.

Dad is now cared for full-time by Mum, with carers helping twice a day. He can say the odd word or two, finish familiar phrases, and sing! But he can’t have a conversation, walk or feed himself.

He still knows who we are though, and our connection is still there. He smiles when he sees his grandkids or we say something funny. He seems to understand far more than he can communicate.

It’s been a cruel few years and I’ve been desperate to help Mum and Dad. Unfortunately, I was also suffering from a chronic leg injury that meant walking could trigger an extremely painful spasm, causing me to fall and leaving my leg immobile.

However, since my hip replacement in March, I can walk again without that constant threat. I’m out of my wheelchair and physically so much better.

So when I saw Dementia UK’s 62 Miles in October challenge, I couldn’t resist.

I’ve wanted to do something for Dad in terms of fundraising for a long time, and this is my chance. It’s a personal challenge because of my own history of injury, but I hope it makes Dad smile to know I’m able to walk again and hopefully able to do this for him.

As a family, we know how important dementia support can be. Dad attended our local dementia hub twice a week until he could no longer walk, allowing him to socialise and giving Mum a break.

After Dad was discharged from the memory clinic, we were largely left to get on with it. We didn’t know about occupational therapists, speech and language therapy, mobility aids or what to expect as the disease progressed. So much of that information came from the dementia community.

While we haven’t needed Dementia UK’s Admiral Nurses yet, knowing they are there and the work they do for families like ours is hugely comforting.

So, 62 miles this October for Dad. Given that not long ago I couldn’t reliably walk at all, it’s going to be quite a challenge!

Any donation, big or small, will be very much appreciated.

Thank you, friends!

Love Laura xx

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