A HEARTBROKEN granddaughter has given an emotional account of the realities of Alzheimer's disease following her grandma's diagnosis two years ago.

Kirsti Clarke, of Mercer Street, Burtonwood, has spoken of the heartache of watching her 81-year-old grandma, Marian, forget who she is and the life she has lived.

The 21-year-old said: "When my brother and I were growing up my dad wasn't around a lot so we were brought up by my grandparents.

"My grandma was amazing and she taught us so much - she was always the brightest, funniest, most loving person we knew.

"Around seven years ago she started showing the early signs of dementia.

"We first started to notice as she would mistakenly use the dog's name and small things like that.

"She had a formal diagnosis two years ago - she now does even recognise my granddad."

"In the last five years we have watched this disease take away our Grandma's memories and basic skills.

"We have watched the woman that we love disappear in front of us and no other family should have to go through this."

But Kirsti and her brother Kenny, aged 29, from Dallam, are determined to help find a cure for Alzheimer's and have signed up to complete an eight day trek of the Grand Canyon in March.

The siblings hope to raise £7,000 for the Alzheimer's Society in honour of their grandma.

She said: "We would not wish what has happened to my grandma on anyone and we do not want other families to have go through what we have been through.

"We hope to raise awareness of dementia and get more people talking about it.

"Alzheimer's needs more awareness and a cure.

"Only 44 per cent of people with Alzheimer's have an official diagnosis and most of them receive it too late, when precious moments have been missed."

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