Dementia Awareness Campaign

Like many people, when asked what it is like having had a loved one suffer with Alzheimers disease, I find talking about it extremely difficult. To such a degree that until now, I never have. I assume it is a coping mechanism we adopt to hide the pain. Perhaps because it is hard for those who have not experienced the heartache, to comprehend how the devastating disease can take someone so dear to you away so slowly then so suddenly.

I lost my Grandma in 2018 to the disease. She was independent working woman, once capable of juggling her work life and the care of her 7 of children, then later on all 25 of her grandchildren. She began to show signs of Dementia in her early 70's but my family and I deemed them as her 'getting older' and 'being depressed' due to the loss of my grandad.

Until her memory lapses and deteriorated mood became regular occurrences, at this point it was decided medical intervention was the only option. Where she was later diagnosed with early stages of dementia. Her condition deteriorated quite suddenly, meaning she was sadly placed into a residential care home specialising in the aid of Alzheimers patients. The dementia quickly hindered her ability to complete day to day tasks including the ability to recall the names of her family grandchildren, that she had spent so many summers taking care of.

Even throughout her later years, as she struggled more and more to complete simple daily tasks, she would always begin our visits to the care home, by asking my brother and I the same question 'Are you courting?' She would smile waiting for our response, a smile that became increasingly vacant as her condition deteriorated.

Having a loved one with Alzheimers is difficult, as they begin to deteriorate, they start to lose the characteristics that as a collective created their personality. For my grandma it was her smile. After  almost a decade of suffering from the disease my grandma Jean passed away last year aged 84; with a sense of release and relief in some ways. As her passing meant she was no longer lost in a world that she used to thrive in.

Alzheimer's effects 25 million people in the UK, that is 43% of the population, who are either sufferers of the disease or know someone suffering from it. Yet it is a topic rarely discussed. Is it deemed as taboo? Or is due to the lack of knowledge on the devastating disease. A survey commissioned by the alzheimers society suggested that 50% of the people interviewed believed they did not know enough by the disease to spend a considerable amount of time with a Alzheimars patient.

Alzheimers is a disease, that despite the great work already being done is in need of more funding and awareness, to help both those suffering from the disease and those caring for patients. The Alzheimers Society have released statistics that the number of Alzheimer patients will rise from 700,000 to around 1.7 million by 2051. This number can only be reduced with help from charities such as Alzheimers Research UK.

For more information please visit https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/
To make a donation please call 0330 333 0804.

DMU Global takes 1000 students to New York in order to enhance their employability

For many, visiting New York is a pipe dream. 'The Big Apple' is not your usual destination of choice for those on a student budget. For over 1000 undergraduates at De Montfort University their dream turned reality earlier this month. With the help of DMU global, a section of the University's funding department, dedicated to ensuring that a number of willing students are able to travel to different parts of the world enhancing both their employability and their life experiences. For this particular trip I'm sure New York's infamous shopping district left each students wallets all but enhanced.

One of the university's students lucky enough to be selected for the trip was Faith Cunningham, a third year Textile Design student. This was Faith's first opportunity to venture across the Atlantic, she was not going to let this opportunity surpass.
'Thankfully the DMU global bursary gave me the opportunity to visit new york. Had they not, as a student from a working class background, visiting the states at this age would have just not been an option for me.' The sum gifted to each student covers around 50% of the trips cost. Ensuring students from all background at least have the option to visit one of the worlds great cities should they want to take it. Students were also given the opportunity to visit Tokyo, a DMU global trip that is  also running this academic year.

'It gave me the opportunity to leave Europe for the first time. I would say I'm well travelled but a visit to America is something entirely new to me I was anxious of course for my first long hall flight but I felt it was an opportunity that I could not let pass.'

Faith spoke of the excitement she felt as her and her Textile Design classmates arrived at JFK airport, after a 14 hours stint of travelling beginning with a trek from Leicester to Gatwick airport by coach, they had arrived at their final destination.
They were just a short 'cab' journey from their home for the week. Now all they could think about was where they would be staying 'I was quite worried to see the hotel, considering how reasonable the price of the trip was.' Faith said.

 Luckily for the students of the Leicester based university they were not staying in a run down motel 3 buses and a subway ride from Manhattan, in fact it was far from it.  'The hotel we stayed in was unbelievable, the location was perfect, Time Square was actually around the corner.' Faith said with a beaming smile plastered across her face. Their hotel was on 8th street, a prime location for any tourist wanting to explore the 'big city'.

For many tourists visiting New York involves strutting around Soho and meandering around Manhatten, enjoying all the sight seeing and calorific food as they go. Of course as it is an academic trip the time each student spent in the 'big city' was not all like the glitz and glamour. As each student was encouraged to better their job seeking prospects through their experiences whilst on the university funded trip.

'For my course related activity whilst in New York I visited The Fashion Institute of Technology, where their was an exhibition called PINK which was very informative about the colour and connotations surrounding it.' Faith said as she discussed the way the activities organised by her course leader for her time in 'The Big Apple' actually helped her with her studies as well as providing her with a break from the gruelling first year schedule. 'The exhibition provided me with both inspiration and actual content that I will be including in the colour palette for my upcoming end of year project.' Faith explained as she spoke ofhow the trip benefited her both in terms of her university work and how it has developed her as a person. 

'I cannot recommend the DMU global trips enough, New York provided me with content for my upcoming projects, a break from the stresses of life as third year undergraduate and I got to visit one of the most thriving cities in the world, a city I hope to some day return to through my career aspirations.'