“The consultant showed us images of my dad’s brain and gently pointed out the gaps. It was heartbreaking”
Caroline Skelton and her dog Milo(Image: Caroline Skelton)
A woman who lost her father to Alzheimer’s is running two marathons in a bid to fund a cure for the devastating disease. Caroline Skelton, 58, from Brough, is running two marathons for Alzheimer’s Research UK within just two months: Paris in April and Edinburgh in May.
Tim Heneghan, 59, who is a leader for Brough Fitmums & Friends running group, will also be running the marathons with Caroline and fundraising for the charity. Last year, Caroline ran the London Marathon and recalled she said straight after, ‘I’m never doing that again!’ But a short time later, Alzheimer’s Research UK invited Caroline to run the Paris Marathon and she quickly changed her mind.
Caroline said completing the marathon is “very much a mental thing as well as physical” and she keeps her mind focused on her dad and fundraising to get through it.
At a recent Alzheimer’s Research UK event she attended online, Caroline said the possibility of a cure was raised. At the moment, available treatments for Alzheimer’s have a limited effect on the disease’s progression.
“They believe there will one day be a cure,” she said. “That is from a doctor who works in that field. That is very positive, and very exciting if we can raise the money.”
Caroline’s dad, Michael, died in 2021, during a time when care homes were following social distancing guidelines. His identical twin brother – Caroline’s uncle Tony – died the following year, also from Alzheimer’s.
Describing her dad, Caroline said he was “physically very healthy” and avoided smoking and binge drinking. “We noticed when he was about 70, 71, that he was starting to show signs,” she said.
“He didn’t want to talk about it and he didn’t recognise it and we had to have a conversation with him to say, ‘Let’s go see a doctor’ when he was about 76.”
When Caroline’s mum died from cancer, it was no longer safe for her dad to be at home by himself and he moved into a care home in Goole. She added: “He was happy and he used to dance with them. He was always smiling, but he didn’t really know what was going on.”
On her fundraising page, she writes: “I was with my mum and dad on the day they confirmed his diagnosis. The consultant showed us images of my dad’s brain and gently pointed out the gaps. It was heartbreaking.”
Caroline adds that she still carries “his grit and determination” with her. Running the marathons “is my way of honouring him”.
The fundraiser has been launched on Just Giving and has a target of £1,000. You can donate here.