You may have read about Rohan and Anne Dewdney’s story in the May issues of BN5, when they invited family, friends and supporters to join them to celebrate 30 days of walking throughout May. Well, they’ve completed their challenge, with an unbelievable fundraising total!
Rohan lives with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), a relatively uncommon form of dementia which was diagnosed when Rohan was just 56. One of Rohan’s symptoms is degenerating muscle strength so it’s imperative he keeps fit and moving – sometimes it’s a struggle to motivate him. Anne saw the ‘Walk 30 Miles in April’ programme organised by and for Dementia UK and seized upon it as a great way to keep Rohan moving each day.
However, the challenge snowballed when friends, family and followers of Rohan’s FTD journey pages on social media encouraged them with good wishes and donations, with friends joining the walks and following their progress. They walked through sunshine and rain, some walks easier than others and usually taking around 60-90 minutes to complete the mile.
The finale was a celebratory walk for the final part of the last mile, from the Downslink car park and ending at Berrett’s Farm for coffee and cake. When we printed our news item in April, their total was just over £1,200, which we thought was amazing. However, when we printed our June issue, the total was a massive £4,025!
Anne said: “We are overwhelmed by all the good wishes and support, which illustrate what a brilliant village Henfield is. We are so pleased to have raised awareness of dementia and how a diagnosis isn’t a life sentence; life changes, but all experiences of the disease are different. Ro certainly doesn’t conform! He is as kind and gentle as always, with a cheeky and charming sense of humour, we have a brilliant life and we decided early on to face each challenge with a smile. He was over the moon to be greeted by such a huge number of friends on our final walk, the sense of camaraderie and support carried us like a wave, as it has throughout his journey. We feel so blessed and thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts.”
Thanks to the 70 or so walkers on Sunday 30 April, as well as Rohan’s online supporters and donators. A big thank you to Christine, the brilliant baker behind Berrett’s delicious cakes, who created a huge carrot cake from BN5 (and refused any payment, so we then donated to Dementia UK instead!) and to Emily and Kieran from Berrett’s Farm, who hosted the ‘end of the challenge’.
Editor