Hopes and dreams for 2013 a promise to mum

Hopes and dreams for 2013 keeping a promise

2012 was the toughest of years .Dementia finally took its toll on my wee mum and she passed away on September 22^nd and life for me will never be the same .the 5 years caring for my mum changed our lives for ever and the scars and joy are evident in my heart and mind tonight as they where yesterday and will no doubt be there tomorrow .Time might change the memories and ease the hurt. but a full recovery seems an impossible task at this time, in amongst this journey we started our wee campaign to coolest life stories and raise awarerness. I made a promise to mum, when this campaign started the dilemma was how would my mum feel about me speaking about our journey to others at talks and t through any form of media who would listen and share and to do this I had to share the most intimate and personal side of our lives .That dilemma was answered by the way in which my mum lived her life, her ability to care about and for all she met told me it was ok and that is the driving force still for this campaign to care and be cared for with respect ,dignity and understanding and that promise I made to my mum is stronger today that I would tell our story and collect others to try and bring more understanding to allow people to be given the respect they deserve and that their dignity is given at all times

And that promise extends to all who share their experiences good or bad that I will take their stories to decision makers to a wider public and bring more help and understating  any way I can .our Journey like so many other could have been so much better and as a society we have to change dementia from a whisper to discussion as its people who change lives and unless we talk about it ,unless we challenge the negatives and promote the positives then to many others will sit like I sit tonight suffering from a lack of understanding within and a lack of understanding towards when it really mattered every day I cared for my amazing wee mum

So my hopes and dreams are no surprise more awareness more understanding and respect and dignity to all who face this challenging often cruel illness

Tommy