Legacy
Legacy
Please note: this post is 112 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only
Currently, in the UK alone, there are 850,000 people with dementia, with numbers set to rise to over 1 million by 2025 and likely to double by 2051. Roughly every 3 minutes, someone will develop Dementia. John is one of those people.
John, 84, lives with his wife in Islington. He’s a retired engineer, marathon runner, dog lover, Crufts winner and football fanatic but, for over 3 years now, John has been living with Alzheimer’s and his memory loss proves an everyday challenge for both him and his wife.
John and his wife Marie were born and raised in Islington and are both huge Arsenal fans, holding season tickets for the past 10 years. Sadly last season John was no longer well enough to attend the matches so Marie contacted North London Cares to see if she could get some help.
Not wanting John to miss out on the games, the atmospheres or the camaraderie she asked if a volunteer could be able to take John to his local pub, The Regent on Liverpool Road, to watch the game over a pint. Che was only too happy to help and the two have watched every televised home game since.
There are 55 years between John and Che and 4,723 miles between their home towns (Che is originally from Canada). The likelihood of them meeting and becoming friends was slim, but despite the odds they did and now the two are good friends.
When John opens the door he can’t always remember Che’s name, where he lives or if he has met him before. But what he does remember is worth far more. John can remember: “Thomas, charging through the midfield... it's up for grabs now... Thomas, right at the end!" - Michael Thomas’s 1989 winning goal against Liverpool.
He remembers that in 1997 Dennis Bergkamp placed the ball into the top corner past a helpless Kasey Keller, scoring a winning hat-trick goal against Leicester.
John can now also remember what it is like to be connected, engaged and a part of something bigger than his Dementia. With Che, John is a football fan again.
"He can’t always remember Che’s name [...] but with Che, John is a football fan again."
For so many, Dementia is a label. It is handed out, stuck on and comes with no instruction manual. In turn this label can become a person’s whole identity with little regard to the person they were and are.
Football is as much part of John’s identity as Dementia is but in his day-to-day life this is too often forgotten. Thanks to Che’s time, commitment and shared love of football both John and Marie can be reminded of their true identity again.
