Simon's 1,718km in 17/18

I won't say Merry Christmas because for some it has been, but maybe not for all. Perhaps you know someone close to you with dementia, perhaps this is is your last Christmas with them, or your first Christmas without them. That's to say nothing of those who suffer from dementia themselves, perhaps unable to engage in the festivities. For me, it's the first Christmas without Dad. Last Christmas he spent in hospital with a bout of pneumonia. Looking back, an eerie omen of the year to come even though it was a month before his formal diagnosis. We spent time with Dad in the hospital but he was noticeably absent from the table, the tree and the general goings on. This year (and I suspect for most Christmases going forward) his absence was less tangible. Maybe its too soon. Maybe its because (at least until our holiday in May) between us all we didn’t have enough conversations that this X could be the last X with Dad. All we could do last Christmas was to hope...

His journey has brought him Not too far, not too near From fifties big smoke To leafy Hertfordshire In Stevenage found him His Christine, his love dear In Ware they would wed Within the two year Children would bring him Pain, joy and cheer But the one thing he never showed Was one ounce of fear When Feb Seventeen brought him Bad news to hear It was time for those close to him To shed a tear Alackaday for him Had less than a year From fateful diagnosis And now we are here But fear not for him, Come raise a beer, Remember our Geoff, Friend, brother dad, and husband so dear Yes friends fear not for him, He'll always be near, Just look inside ourselves, For now he is here

As I began to come to terms with his passing, before going to sleep on the second day, it suddenly hit me that my "proper Dad" was gone.  Forever.   Since May we had been dealing with Dad in hospital and the last week was even more difficult.  Following 2 bouts of pneumonia (I read recently that up to 2/3 of patients with forms of dementia will ultimately die due to pneumonia) treatment was stopped and Dad held on for nearly a week. The first couple of days was about letting go of that Dad, the Dad who had struggled on and on in hospital for the last months, weeks and days.  However after that I remembered (obviously hadn't forgotten) than the old Dad, the "proper Dad" had passed. With the gradual, but unstoppable regression of recent months I had not stopped to try to draw a line where I can hand on heart remember him as a whole person.  Family members spoke of the last thing he said to them, but I think the last proper thing he said to me was ...

So the first half of the year has come and gone (6th October), and what a 6 months it has been! When I started this project back in April, Dad was still walking, talking and though he noticeably had dementia he was still to a large degree my dad (I know he has never, nor will never stop being my dad). Maybe it's natural, with time constraints seeing Dad in hospital, but my running distance had slipped in recent weeks/months, and it was only very recently (just before 6th October I think) that my total for the year so far hit the half way mark. I had planned to be averaging around 6k per day, not just the minimum average 4.7k per day to account for the summer months being lighter. Plus I had been on organised runs (like 10k and park runs) which are now less frequent, and with my wife back to work from maternity those occasions are also less frequent. Still, half way there in terms of distance and time, so I have to just remember the words of Bon Jovi: We've got to ho...

So Geoff, son of Laurence Lovick, passed on 3 October 2017 God bless you Dad

Dear reader, If a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, it ends too with a final step. Poor Dad's very close now to his final steps.

It's 21st September, which means World Alzheimer's Day, so it seems the perfect time to (try to at least) restart (again) my blog, and to some extent my running/walking as I'm starting to notice that my daily averages are slipping around or below 3k, much lower than the needed 5k Fortunately I finally have a donation page sorted, so can start to promote the cause both in terms of the charity itself and our challenge: https://fundraise.charitycheckout.co.uk/price-bailey/cf/The-1718km-Challenge Charity Checkout are an alternative to justgiving with more competitive fees, so more funds get to the charity itself.  Hopefully can continue to raise awareness and raise funds through this channel. As for me and my family, dad's journey continues but unfortunately he has continued to regress.  He has been in a hospital now since May, with the majority of the time in a community and more recently in a higher needs ward. Sure, he has days of lucidity and during visits i...