Dad being slowly stripped away by dementia
DAUGHTER OF WELL-KNOWN TEACHER RAISING MONEY TO FIGHT DISEASE
A WELL-known former teacher is being severely affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia and his daughter says he is being “stripped away” by the disease.
Mick Darby taught geography for 30 years at The Pingle School in Swadlincote and was loved by all his former students for the “real personality” he brought to classes.
His daughter, Stacey Walker, said she has been inundated with people sharing their memories of her 73-year-old father. One described him as a “legend” and others have described him as entertaining and remember his comical school plays.
His family, however, were faced with watching his vibrant personality being gradually taken away by Alzheimer’s disease.
Mrs Walker said: “If someone says Alzheimer’s, straight away people assign it to forgetfulness but don’t realise what it entails.
“You have all these memories with that person but know there will come a time when he doesn’t remember you and times when he’ll think his parents are still around.
“It’s awful and I know there will be a time when he doesn’t know his grandchildren or his kids.”
She said that, when his disease did not affect him so badly, that he was “full of character and always familyorientated”.
“It is sad that he has this because his new grandchildren will not have the memories of the older ones. He will not have the pleasure of doing things with his grandkids, as with the older ones he was always playing with them, interacting and entertaining them.”
Mr Darby, who was a massive Wolves fan, was also an avid lover of cricket and fishing and Mrs Walker said they would often go camping during the six weeks’ school holiday as a family.
She said: “At Christmas he had ‘granddd’s grotto’ in the conservatory and it was a highlight of Christmas. It was brilliant.
“He used to ring all the time. I miss dad pestering me or turning up at my house with his newspaper and slippers.”
Mrs Walker said he would always stop and chat to former pupils as he was interested in how they were getting on.
He worked at Pingle from the late 1970s for 30 years. He has seven children and 12 grandchildren.
His world changed forever when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia of the frontal lobe approximately eight years ago.
He started feeling forgetful and having dizzy spells, and Mrs Walker said she once saw the colour draining from his face.
He went for memory assessments and was observed in his own home so they could see the level of deterioration.
Mrs Walker began to care for him, but eventually he was moved to Jason Hylton Court Nursing Home in Swadlincote, where his daughter said the staff are taking excellent care of him.
Due to Covid restrictions, his family are currently unable to visit him but continue to keep in touch via video calls.
Mrs Walker said: “One thing dad always said is he never wanted to be the way he is now. That’s what makes it harder to deal with as he’s at the stage where he said he didn’t want to be.
“I never thought for a minute that my dad would get this – he was a really athletic, healthy guy and he’s just deteriorating.”
Now Mrs Walker wants to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society, which helps victims, and will walk 14.5 miles around Swadlincote and the surrounding areas on Saturday, March 20, to raise as much money as possible.
The walk will begin at her home in Fabis Close and will continue to The Admiral Rodney pub before heading up the A444 to Mushroom Hall, Midway and Cadley Road, Newhall. The walk will then return her and two of her four children, Reece 11, and Lily, nine, home.
She said: “I want to do this because I’ve been stuck at home being mum/teacher and I need to do something to get out of the house and get rid of the lockdown fat. “I’m saying that I’m the middle man and doing all the work but it’s my dad who’s raising the money. People are donating because of how important he was in their life and they think fondly of him.”
Her sponsored walk has now raised over £1,000 and if you would like to donate, you can do so at justgiving.com. All the money will be given to the Alzheimer’s Society.
You have all these memories with that person but know there will come a time when he doesn’t remember you. Stacey Walker