ROBBIE TELLS OF DAD’S DEMENTIA HEARTACHE
Former football star-turned-pundit Robbie Savage speaks about losing his father to dementia as a new campaign aiming to unite people to fight the condition is launched
FORMER Wales football star Robbie Savage has spoken out about his father’s battle with dementia as part of a new campaign.
As Alzheimer’s Society Cymru launched a new campaign yesterday calling on people in Wales to unite in the fight against dementia, celebrities and sports stars including comedian Jo Brand, actress Carey Mulligan, and comedian Meera Syal have thrown their support behind the cause.
One of those is former Wales footballer and pundit Robbie Savage.
The 42-year-old star was a regular for Wales during his football career, winning 39 caps for the national side, while he also played for a host of top clubs including Leicester, Birmingham, Derby and Blackburn.
Hanging up his boots in 2011, Wrexham-born Savage has since turned to a career in punditry.
The footballer lost his dad Colin to younger onset dementia – which affects more than 40,000 people in the UK under 65 – when his dad was only 64 years old in 2012, after being diagnosed aged 58.
The word dementia describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss, difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language.
Changes can often be small to start with but can become severe enough to affect daily life.
A person with dementia may also experience changes in their mood or behaviour.
Savage said: “People think dementia is an old person’s condition but it isn’t. My dad was struck down in his prime.
“Dementia can affect anyone anywhere. It was so painful to witness my hero and best friend gradually slip away.”
Colin, an ardent football fan, used to take his son training after work and didn’t miss a single match of his son’s career for 15 years until he became ill.
“In the end he couldn’t speak, swallow or recognise me at all. To see him like that was devastating for the whole family.
“That’s why it’s so important for me to get involved with this campaign.”
His support for the new campaign comes as new figures released yesterday by the charity, from an Ipsos Mori survey, show a lack of public understanding about one of the biggest health crisis facing society. It revealed: 46% of Welsh adults aged 16 to 75 strongly agree that dementia is the health condition they most fear developing;
30% believe that dementia is a condition that results in death.
27% said they would feel uncomfortable talking to someone with dementia on the phone;
12% thought that dementia only affects a person’s memory.
There are 45,000 people living with dementia in Wales, according to Alzheimer’s Society Cymru.
Alzheimer’s Society is the UK’s leading dementia charity. Its new campaign – United Against Dementia – aims to change the landscape of dementia forever, reaching every person affected by the condition to offer help and support.
A TV advert at the heart of the campaign, voiced by actor Bill Nighy, aired last night, playing on issues that can cause divisions in society including age, gender identity – and even whether people voted to remain or leave in last year’s EU referendum.
Alzheimer’s Society is urging everyone to come together and unite against dementia, with volunteers becoming involved by becoming a Dementia Friend, campaigning or donating to fund research for a cure.
Sue Phelps, director for Alzheimer’s Society Cymru, said: “We’re determined to bring everyone’s attention to the massive injustice faced by people with dementia and their carers, with too many denied the support they need.
“Alzheimer’s Society hears day in, day out about people with dementia and their carers struggling – from the carer having to choose between a knee operation and caring for her mum, to a man with young onset dementia who had to give up work and ask his daughter to pay the mortgage so he could pay for his care.
“There are 45,000 people living with dementia in Wales. We urgently need people in Wales to unite with us to improve care, offer help and understanding to those affected and find a cure. Together, we can bring about change.”