memories matter 21 September 2009
The Memory Wall that the Alzheimers Trust had put together in Manchester today was a revelation on a number of levels. People posted their memories on the board on yellow post-its – good, bad and everywhere in between. Some of them were intriguing – like the one that just said ‘my wedding’ but didn’t specify whether that was a happy or sad event…and it wasn’t signed so perhaps the person didn’t want to take responsibility for it either?? Another said ‘both my weddings’ – again, fascinating. Several people had remembered world events – quite a few the end of WW2, another the moon landing. One kind of broke my heart, though, as it recounted times long ago for this particular person and ended with ‘all my happy memories are buried behind years of unhappiness.’ You may see such a wall in your area at some point and if you do please post something up as part of the Memories Matter campaign. Also, if you can ever support the Trust please do, as research is the way forward with this awful disease and we, as a generation, may not see a cure in our lifetimes but we just might be able to pave the way for one for further generations. It’s estimated that 700,000 people in the UK are suffering from Alzheimer’s and related dementias which means that in total about 4 million lives are actually affected and today comes the news that it’s progressing faster than expected and will double within 20 years…which is less than a generation…
The bruises are changing colour and my back, in particular, can rival any loud painting now…
