'Heartbreak as dementia made grandad forget me'

"For my grandad, who felt like my best friend, to forget me overnight, it was soul-destroying," says Katie Robinson, describing her experience of her grandfather's struggle with dementia.

But it was his illness that inspired the 40-year-old to create a new service in Plymouth to help others with the disease.

Katie's Here for You was formed in 2019 and provides weekly music and activity sessions in St Budeaux, which Ms Robinson described as a "missing gap in dementia care".

According to the Alzheimer's Society, one in three people born in the UK will develop dementia in their lifetime. The NHS currently spends more than £800m annually on diagnosis, treatment and support of the disease.

Katie's mum Sue Robinson said her father's memory loss happened overnight.

"Dad suffered a stroke, then, the next day, he couldn't remember Katie. That was so heartbreaking," she said.

Katie's grandad passed away with vascular dementia in 2010 and her grandma died from Alzheimer's disease three years later.

"When we lost them, there was nothing out there for us and I wanted to be there for others," Katie said.

During the day club sessions at St Boniface Church, Katie, a qualified dementia specialist who self-funded her own training, organises musical bingo for those with mild to moderate dementia.

She said the music was the most rewarding part as "we see the way they come alive, their faces light up".

She said: "Someone might not be able to communicate with us in other areas, but, as soon as the song comes on, they'll start singing to it.

"They become a completely different person. I like it when you see it in their eyes, the spark comes back."

Bob, from Plympton, used to previously sing in choirs and the 84-year-old's daughter said he loved the music sessions.

Daughter Jo said: "It brings back all the good memories. He's always in his happy place when he sings the music.

"With the dementia, sometimes they feel alone and isolated, but Katie looks after them. She sends videos of dad dancing - I know he's in safe hands."

The Alzheimer's Society said music could improve the mood, behaviour and wellbeing of those living with the disease.

Music therapist Melanie Garside said she was "astounded" by the results of playing music to dementia patients in Cornwall.

She said: "I'd seen the results of what can happen for people with dementia from a young age and was astounded by it.

"Music is just another form of language. If we can find a way to help people connect with themselves again, then people are rediscovering a bit of themselves which maybe has felt out of reach before."

The Alzheimer's Society defines dementia as a group of symptoms caused by different diseases that damage the brain.

The charity said the disease was the UK's biggest killer, with an estimated 982,000 people in the UK currently living with the condition. That number is also set to rise to 1.4 million by 2040.

There is currently no cure but Adam Zeman, a professor of neurology at the University of Exeter, advised it could be preventable "up to a point".

He said: "The advice is simple: to keep healthy by looking after your blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, taking exercise, keeping your mind busy and not smoking."

He added that stimulation, including musical activities, was "extremely important" for those living with dementia and the "impetus is on us to believe in them and allow them to get the most out of life, and there is still plenty that can be got out of life".

Katie said she wished her grandparents could see the dedication to others for dementia care.

"I just do what I do for them. I hope they're looking down proud," she said.

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