A Scots woman battling dementia has joined forces with celebrities to campaign for better support after losing three aunts to the horrific condition.
Olive Munro, 70, from Ardtalnaig on Loch Tay, was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2015 after seeing the disease take many of her close relatives.
She has now joined a campaign with the likes of Dame Julie Walters- whose grandmother died with vascular dementia – and launched a petition calling for more government support.
Olive said: “I’ve witnessed the heartbreak of dementia in my family as three aunts died with Alzheimer’s disease and a cousin is now living in a nursing home. Dementia reduced them to a fraction of themselves. So being diagnosed with dementia myself was very upsetting.
“I’m fortunate that I’m still currently able to live life to the full. I’m able to cope with my symptoms and they don’t impact me too much. I mostly have problems with mental arithmetic and occasionally forgetting words. I also have some memory problems, forgetting the little day-to-day things.
“But I don’t know what the future will hold. I don’t know how quickly things will get worse and there are currently no treatments to stop or slow dementia.
“That’s why I’m urging people to sign Alzheimer's Research UK’s petition, calling on government to deliver on its election promise to double funding for dementia research.
“Extra funding for dementia research is so important.
"I don’t know if there will be anything for my future, but it so important that treatments are found to slow down and stop dementia so future generations won’t be affected."
Dame Julie Walters has become the latest star to support the petition, following on from Dame Judi Dench, Stephen Fry, Brian Cox, Dame Harriet Walter and Luke Evans.
One in four people who have died with COVID-19 in Great Britain also had dementia, while social distancing measures have been particularly challenging them and their loved ones.
Charity chiefs say at the same time, the virus has threatened progress in research, with studies delayed and pioneering researchers being forced to consider leaving the field.
There are nearly one million in the UK living with dementia today, including 70,000 people in Scotland, but there are currently no treatments to slow, stop or prevent the diseases, most commonly Alzheimer’s, that cause it.
In 2019, the UK government promised to double funding for dementia research as part of a ‘moonshot’ effort to find a cure.
Dame Julie Walters said:“As someone who witnessed the effects of dementia growing up, I am proud to be standing with the tens of thousands of people who are calling on government to deliver on its election promise to double investment into researching the condition.
"My grandmother had vascular dementia and she lived with us when we were kids. We didn’t really understand her symptoms, but we all loved her to bits.
"I still don’t know how my mother coped having to care for her and look after three young children.
"It’s appalling that over half of us know someone affected by dementia, yet there are no treatments to slow, stop or prevent it. Far too many families are being forced to experience the pain dementia causes on a daily basis because of the lack of treatments and to put it simply, enough is enough.
“There is an urgent need for research to bring about life-changing treatments for people affected by dementia. With the tragic impact COVID-19 has had on those with the condition, the funding promised by government is more critical now than it ever has been and it’s clear the public agrees. I’d urge everyone to sign this petition, so we can make it clear to government that we will not let their promise be cast aside.”
Hilary Evans, Chief Executive of Alzheimer's Research UK, said: “This poll shows that despite the dreadful impact COVID-19 has had for us all, the public has not lost sight of the urgent need for life-changing dementia research.
"The search for life-changing dementia treatments has never been more critical."
You can sign the petition here: alzres.uk/sign-our-petition
