One Hunter family is raising much-needed funds for Dementia Australia’s Memory Walk and Jog initiative, determined to make a difference and support vital dementia research.
Dementia Australia’s biggest fundraising initiative, Memory Walk & Jog, will be held at Speers Point Park in Lake Macquarie on March 27.
The Stokes family, whose mother Deb Noone was diagnosed with Fronto Temporal Dementia in 2017, said the fundraiser provided support, education and resources for people living with dementia, along with their carers, families and friends.
Deb’s daughter, Denva Stokes, leads the team, Dementia Adventure for Deb, comprised of eight participants, including family and friends.
The team has so far raised over $1,000 for the Dementia Foundation.
“We want people to have a greater awareness around dementia and to understand that there’s not enough funding around the disease, despite it affecting so many families across Australia,” Denva said.
She also hopes to use the platform to erase social stigmas associated with dementia.
“I’ve noticed that since mum was diagnosed, people don’t know how to talk and interact with her – they just automatically think her memory is gone and that she’s basically gone.
“The main thing I wanted to get across is that mum is still mum … up until recently, she still liked to talk about her grandkids and be around people – she’s still a person.”
Before her mother’s diagnosis, Denva said her parents had plans to travel before they retired.
However, just after Deb reached the exciting milestone and celebrated her 60th birthday, they received the devastating news.
With the support of carers and NDIS, Denva, her brother Jye and her 67-year-old father Wayne look after Deb at home.
“Dad is the most incredible person in the world,” Denva said.
“Dementia is a 24/7 thing, and he does an amazing job looking after her.”
Denva said that while her mum was only 65 years old, the family was seeing her deteriorate “right before their eyes”.
“Mum’s passion was cooking, although it’s hard to watch her in a kitchen now … she doesn’t know how to cook and cannot be trusted in the kitchen by herself,” she said.
Denva said her mother rarely interacted with her grandchildren anymore, and it was difficult explaining the condition to her kids.
“Some days mum knows who we are and other days she doesn’t know… it’s gut-wrenching.”
“It’s been hard trying to tell my five-year-old why grandma might run off, or why we have to keep an eye on her,” Denva said.
“If he can play with other kids whose grandma is like his at the event, then that is important to us.
Currently, an estimated 157,000 people are living with dementia in NSW.
In 2021, Stokes and her team of 18 raised $4,500, earning the position as the top team in the Hunter.
As COVID-19 impacted the 2020 event, Stokes completed her own fundraising walks and individually raised $3,000.
“Just because there’s a lot of other things happening in the world right now doesn’t mean dementia has gone away,” Denva said.
Dementia Australia CEO Maree McCabe said Dementia Australia looked forward to seeing the Memory Walk & Jog event return to the Hunter in 2022.
“These events are so important, not just from a fundraising perspective, but also because they are opportunities for people impacted by dementia to gather, get active, and share stories with people in similar circumstances,” McCabe said.
The event has been tailored to all ages and abilities, including a 2km course, 8km course or a timed course – to register or donate, visit the Memory Walk and Jog website.
Maia O’Connor