Hello to all my good apples out there!
I’m Granny Smyth, and my mother had Alzheimer’s disease.
Caring for her wasn’t easy. Sometimes, I felt completely alone and overwhelmed.
I’ve started this fundraiser not just to raise funds, but to create a community where we can support each other and share our experiences. Whether they’re good or bad, whether you’ve personally been affected or your loved one has… Everyone’s story is important.
Help me raise funds for life-changing research that will light a path towards a hopeful future. Join the discussion on our Facebook group, GGAT.
CARING FOR MY MOTHER made me realise that it’s a difficult journey and far from straightforward.
I often questioned if I was doing the right thing by having my mother live with me. I just wanted to better care for her, and a consultant told me that moving her would only lead to confusion, which was already a problem with her vascular dementia.
I worked a full-time job and that made caring for her even more difficult. I took some precautions, like switching the gas cooker’s ignition to an isolated switch. She never understood why, but it put my mind at ease, knowing I wouldn’t come home to an accident.
It was like a role reversal. She looked after me and kept me safe when I was a child, so I felt it was my duty to return the care years later.
When my mother came to live with me, she had this hat and coat she always wore. She would put it on and sling her bag over her shoulder and stand at the front door expecting to go home. This always broke my heart.
More than twenty years later, I still wonder if I did the right thing.
Scientists don’t yet fully understand Alzheimer’s disease. How can we get answers to something we don’t yet understand?
Research is just as important now as when it first began.
WHAT I HOPE TO ACHIEVE
I want to raise awareness.
I want to raise funds for research.
And I want to help and support members of the LGBTQ+ community affected by dementia who still face discrimination to this day. I hope to build understanding and resolve confusion about caring for a loved one through mutual dialogue in my GGAT Facebook. Those of us who have already gone through the ordeal are vital to building a supportive community. We have invaluable experiences that might help those of us currently going through the same things we did.
Let’s show each other some much-needed support. Let’s clear the air about discrimination, and how it affects receiving treatment.
MY GOALS
Raise funds and awareness for Alzheimer’s disease within the LGBTQ+ community.
Get equal care for LGBTQ+ members across the country.
Ensure that discrimination is eradicated from the caring sector.
Provide a safe space for all members of the LGBTQ+ dealing with some form of dementia. Carers, friends, family members, everyone.
WHO IS GRANNY SMYTH
I’m retired now and a senior member of the LGBTQ+ community. After my experiences caring for my mother, and knowing the challenges we face, I just want to give back and support my fellows.
Gays Get Alzheimer’s Too (GGAT) gives me drive and hope. I’m proud of how far I’ve come already, and I hope that many of you will join me on this journey.
WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO
Funds raised will go toward two places:
The Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre. They are developing a multi-parameter approach to defining brain tissue structure and several aspects of function. To allow effective and acceptable study of people with early dementia the University has developed new rapid scanning techniques.
These allow measurement of the six major parameters in the same patient. Understanding the relationship between these measurements will shed new light on disease progression of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia to improve diagnosis and management of the disease.
Help me in carrying out efforts to be a country-wide support point for all LGBTQ+ members who are dealing with dementia in some form.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Get involved by talking with group members. Share your experiences and wisdom to strengthen our community. The more we talk, the more aspects of care we can cover and ultimately, help more of us overcome overwhelming obstacles.
Donate. Anything you give will go a long way. Whether it’s £2.00 or more. We’re grateful for your support.
Share your experiences. Good, bad, or sad, let’s honour our loved ones by remembering who they were. Share with me their favourite song, poem, or their stories by emailing me at [email protected]
Please note that anything you share (photos, stories, etc.) I’ll take as permission to share with the GGAT Facebook group and Instagram.
Take part in life-changing support.
Consider donating today and/or becoming part of our Facebook group and join the conversation.