Elliott will make his mother’s day running Bupa London 10,000 to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Society

Lawyer Elliott, aged 32 and married with a one-year-old son, plays football, tennis and cricket, but says doing longer runs was always quite a challenge.  He was encouraged by his friend to sign up for the Bupa London 10K, on 30 May, then, for personal reasons, signed up to run for Alzheimer's Society.

Elliott explains,

'My mum Mary Hughes was a GP and one of the few practitioners of psycho-sexual medicine in the country.  It was actually one of her patients who pointed out that she'd just repeated herself and that alerted her that something was wrong.  Two years ago we needed to find residential care for her which was difficult because she was only 58 and care homes only tend to cater for much older people.'

Elliott says his mum seems happy and very well-cared for, enjoys talking to people (though communication is now difficult) and, although she is quite frail, likes singing and dancing.  Elliott added,

'Running for my mum has given me the extra incentive to complete the 10k and if I can just make even five people aware of the terrible problems of Alzheimer's, I will be happy.  Taking part in a Bupa Great Run for Alzheimer's Society means you can genuinely improve the lives of people with dementia and their carers and I believe we need to raise awareness of how this affects people and what we can all do to help.'

Dr Graham Stokes, director of dementia care, Bupa Care Services, said:

'Everyone's mum is special and Mother's Day is a fantastic opportunity to show you care. Around two thirds of the 750,000 people in the UK with dementia are women.

'Taking part in a Bupa Great Run is a great way to honour someone you love, raise funds to support people with dementia and their carers, and get fit, helping reduce your own risk of dementia.'

 -Ends-

Notes to editors:

For enquiries, a photograph or to arrange an interview or photo op please contact:

Alzheimer's Society                                      Bupa        

Jayne Phenton                                                Joanne Hudson

T. 020 7423 3595/ 0774 704 6750                  T. 020 7656 2273                              

E. jayne.phenton@alzheimers.org.uk            E. joanne.hudson@bupa.com

Alzheimer's Society

• One in three people over 65 will die with dementia.
• Alzheimer's Society research shows that 750,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia, more than half have Alzheimer's disease. In less than 10 years nearly a million people will be living with dementia. This will soar to 1.7 million people by 2051.
• Alzheimer's Society champions the rights of people living with dementia and the millions of people who care for them. 
• Alzheimer's Society works in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Alzheimer's Society needs to raise money to help people live well with dementia today and for research to find a cure for tomorrow. You can donate now by calling 0845 306 0898 or visiting alzheimers.org.uk
• Alzheimer's Society provides a National Dementia Helpline, the number is 0845 300 0336 or visit alzheimers.org.uk
  

Bupa

Bupa's purpose is to help people lead longer, healthier, happier lives.

A leading international healthcare group, we offer personal and company health insurance, run care homes for older people and hospitals, and provide workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services, including health coaching, and home healthcare.

With no shareholders, we invest our profits to provide more and better healthcare.  We are committed to making quality, patient-centred, affordable healthcare more accessible in the areas of wellness, chronic disease management and ageing.

Employing nearly 52,000 people, Bupa has operations around the world, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and the USA, as well as Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and across Latin America.

For more information, visit www.bupa.com