A Cardiff man is taking part in the London Marathon in memory of his mum who died of Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease. Sharon Ashford, who was originally from Swansea and lived most of her life in Cardiff, was diagnosed when she was 56 in 2018 after making errors at work.
Her health "deteriorated rapidly" and she was admitted einto hospital in November 2019, before she died in March 2020. Her son Peter Ashford, 34, will be running the race to raise money for Alzheimer's Research UK. You can donate to his fundraiser here.
On Friday, March 3, he will also be starting a gruelling 48-hour running challenge of 48 miles to bump up donations and prepare for the marathon. The challenge will coincide with his mum's birthday on Saturday, and he will run an additional ten miles to bring the total to 58 - the same age his mum was when she died.
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Before her diagnosis, Sharon, who worked for over 30 years in the Civil Service, started to "struggle with certain things - questioning or doubting what was going on day to day," recalled Peter, who works in the TV and film industry. She went for tests at the University Hospital of Wales, but kept her trips to the doctors a secret from her family until she was diagnosed.
"I found out at my 30th birthday party, so it was a bit of a shock," Peter said. "She didn't want to tell any of her kids any of the struggles she was going through. She didn't want us to worry. We only really found out when she told the family she'd been diagnosed with it...I think she also felt a bit embarrassed."
Asked what her initial symptoms were, he said: "It was very small things - it could be misplacing of keys. And what really set it was she started struggling at work and making errors and just forgetting procedures and because of that then she did have to medically retire."
Peter, who grew up in Cardiff but had moved to the Midlands, moved back to the capital to live with his parents and help care for his mum. "Her routine was lost so she would struggle with sleep, she'd be up numerous times throughout the night, and then that led to confusion throughout the day and she just started forgetting the simple things," he said.
"She didn't think her home was actually her home, and was always trying to get out, and she just started slowly becoming forgetful with family, forgetting our names, forgetting who my dad was." Alzheimer's runs in her family, with her brother having been diagnosed at a similar time.
He also "deteriorated quickly" and passed away in 2021 at just 56-years-old. Her dad had also lived with Alzheimer's. But Peter admitted witnessing his mum's condition was a "shock".
"I was a young lad at the time when my granddad went through it so I don't think we processed it the same way and we only saw glimpses of it - we'd see them once a week. But seeing [my mum] deteriorate like that was quite shocking - you slowly just lose them day by day.
"We just didn't anticipate for things to go downhill so quickly. We thought it would be a long process of taking care of her for potentially numerous years but it was a fast decline." By November 2019, Sharon's condition had worsened to such an extent that she had to be admitted to hospital.
"Even with me being there to help my dad, it just became too much," Peter said, adding that his dad worked nightshifts so care for Sharon during the day, while he himself cared for her at night. "It was getting to the point where she was putting herself at risk, constantly trying to break her way out of the house...she just needed full-time care."
In February 2020, she declined further and stopped eating. This went on for a number of weeks, before the decision was made for her to receive palliative care, until she died just two weeks later on March 13, 2020.
Describing the impact her death had on the family, Peter said: "It was a lot to take in at the time. It happened just before Covid was kicking off so we were very fortunate to be with her as she died...it hit home and it was difficult to comprehend. But Barry Hospital were fantastic and the staff there were amazing."
He and his siblings were offered genetic counselling. "It was determined that there is a 50% chance that myself, my brother and sister could have some sort of dementia or Alzheimer's as well."
Speaking of the importance of raising money for research into Alzheimer's disease, Peter said: "I just think it would be great to find somewhat of a cure to make a change to people's family trees because otherwise it's just going to continue. Obviously there are lifestyle factors, but there is only so much you can do, like with any disease.
"One in three people born this year will have some form of dementia later on in life. I just think now is the time to act and hopefully they can find a cure within our lifetime." He said the gruelling running challenge - known as the 4x4x48 challenge - is the brainchild of David Goggins, an American ultramarathon runner and retired Navy SEAL.
Peter will be running four miles, every four hours, for 48 hours, beginning 8pm on Friday. "The run will finish at 4pm on Sunday, so that will allow me to enjoy a nice roast dinner," he said.
"It's more of a mental endurance and what makes it more challenging is the lack of sleep. What drew me to it is I will be able to relate to what someone with dementia or Alzheimer's goes through, which is lack of sleep and becoming confused.
Peter got into running again just last year and it will be his first ever marathon. "If anyone is able to donate, it will be gratefully received, and I hope they can actually find a cure for Alzheimer's disease," he said. You can donate to Peter's fundraiser here.
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