Ann and her mum were very close so always spent lots of time together at Christmas.
Ann shares:
“My mum was a huge part of my life. We were very close so of course at Christmas we spent lots of time together, doing the usual family activities.
Christmas can be a difficult time of year now though. Mum sadly passed away in November 2019 after living with PSP for at least nine years.”
She continues:
“Mum’s PSP symptoms seemed quite subtle at first. When the falls began, it led to years of investigations via the GP, at the Elderly Care Department.
As a nurse working in continuing healthcare, I had heard of PSP through conducting assessments. But it wasn’t until mum’s symptoms progressed, I started to see correlations between what I was hearing at work, with the changes I was seeing in mum.
At that point, in 2014 mum at last received a referral to a neurologist and gained the PSP diagnosis I had started to suspect.
Information we received from PSPA really helped us all as a family get to grips with mum’s diagnosis. We also got a lot from attending the local Support Group meetings and reading PSPA Matters.
It is because of the support we received my family began donating to PSPA’s Bauble Appeal.
I always knew I wanted to give something back to the charity and donating to the Bauble Appeal is an easy way to support PSPA, and to also helps me still feel connected to my mum and dad at Christmas.
I donate in memory of both of them. For my mum because she laughed until the end, despite the challenges PSP brought, and for my dad for being such a dedicated carer to her.”
