Danni will make time for a cuppa with gran
RAISING MONEY FOR DEMENTIA CHARITY – AND YOU CAN, TOO
IN July 2006, Danni Smurthwaite’s grandma, Elizabeth, was involved in a car accident.
While talking to friends in a car park, she was hit by a car and suffered several bleeds on her brain.
She was in hospital for over a month but made a remarkable recovery.
Several weeks later, Elizabeth had a stroke, which led to her spending over two months in hospital.
She had to learn how to walk, talk and eat again. By the time she was discharged from hospital, she had lost her short-term memory.
Years later, Danni, from Leicester, and her family encouraged Elizabeth to visit the GP as her memory had become so bad she was forgetting to take her medication.
In 2011, her doctor confirmed she was living with dementia.
The situation worsened for the family as Elizabeth’s condition progressed. On one occasion, she set fire to her kitchen after leaving a chip pan on.
On another, she was found in the early hours several miles from her home. She had fallen over and had to be admitted to hospital. The decision was made to move her into residential care in 2021.
Danni and her family visit Elizabeth regularly in her care home.
“One of my favourite memories with my grandma was at our childhood birthday parties,” said Danni.
“She was always the first one on the bouncy castle and we had so much fun.
“We always used to have big family get-togethers and she loved it.
In Elizabeth’s honour, Danni is holding a Dementia UK Time for a Cuppa event on May 4 to raise money for the charity to increase its number of dementia specialist Admiral Nurses.
Danni said: “Grandma loves drinking tea and eating cake, and it’s her 90th birthday this summer, so hosting this event in her honour made sense.”
This May, Dementia UK is inviting supporters to make Time for a Cuppa to raise funds.
Sign up for a free Time for a Cuppa fund-raising pack at: