FOUR sisters whose mother is suffering from dementia are raising cash in her honour.
The women – who were all born in King Cross, Halifax – are aiming to collect £7,500 for the Alzheimer's Society.
Two of the sisters – Lynn Cunningham, 54, of Hipperholme, and Anne Walker, 56, who now lives in York – will undertake a five-day sponsored trek in Beijing.
The other two – Judith Wright, 47, of Greetland, and Kathryn Spendilow, 49, who lives in Cheshire – are organising fund-raising events including a cheese and wine tasting session and an It's a Knockout competition.
"My mum was in her 50s when she started suffering dementia," said Judith. "It's just a really hard illness for the family to cope with.
"As a family we wanted to get involved. We're all quite excited."
The sisters' mother, Betty Ratcliffe, 76, is staying at Park View care home in Lee Mount Road, Ovenden.
The first fund-raising event took place at the Design House, Dean Clough, Halifax last week.
Location manager for Last of the Summer Wine Sylvia Kendall gave guests a glimpse behind the long-running sitcom.
For more information about planned events e-mail Judith at judith@wrightanglemar keting.com
Fact file
- Dementia is the gradual loss of day-to-day mental abilities and the most common symptoms include loss of memory, confusion, and changes in personality, mood and behaviour.
- There are more than 100 types of dementia, the most common is Alzheimer's disease, which is responsible for about 60 per cent of all cases.
- About 6 per cent of people over the age of 65, and 20 per cent of people over the age of 85, will develop some degree of dementia.
- Dementia can develop in younger people but is less common.
- There is no known cure fort Alzheimer's disease.
The full article contains 310 words and appears in Evening Courier newspaper.
