Mr Alzheimer's and Me My Life


Mr Alzheimer's and Me

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Transcript


LineFromTo

You ready?

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Right, young Joshua, Operation Greenhouse.

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This is my grandad, Derek.

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He's a big part of my life.

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It's like a jungle in here.

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It is, yes. In fact, your mother refuses to come in here.

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JOSHUA CHUCKLES

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We have a really close bond.

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Pull.

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'He enjoys talking to me.'

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He's always happy when I'm there.

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She's got eight.

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One more go, Nan.

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-No.

-Two more goes, Nan.

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My nan is my bestest friend ever and I love her.

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-It's you, isn't it?

-Yeah.

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My grandad's name

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is Charlie,

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but everyone calls him Dez.

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What did you do to your head?

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What did you do?

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What did you do to your head?

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HE MUMBLES

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Did you fall?

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My grandad's got vascular dementia.

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Dementia is a disease which affects the brain.

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So this means the part of the brain that makes and stores memory

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doesn't work as well

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and you get confused really easily.

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-That's definitely a Spitfire.

-Yeah.

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-That's a Hurricane.

-Yeah.

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And that's a...

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'Cos dementia makes my grandad forget stuff, sometimes I feel like'

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one day I'll walk in and he'll look with a worried face

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and ask who I am.

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My grandad left his house in the middle of the night

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and started walking.

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And then he was found by the police collapsed in a ditch.

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He can't really get his words out.

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He doesn't know what's going on really.

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'Nanny has Alzheimer's.'

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Nan, you forgot your glasses, take them off.

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If it wasn't for you, I'd forget my head.

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Alzheimer's is a type of dementia.

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Night-night, Hope. Love you.

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-Night, Nanny.

-Night-night.

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'She needs lots of help from me and Grandad.'

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It is hard sometimes,

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cos I don't want anyone else going through what my grandad has.

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Nanny has to take special pills to make Alzheimer's go away.

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Have you taken your tablets?

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Yes, sweetheart, I have.

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Good.

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Me and Nanny do the washing and cleaning together

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and I make sure she doesn't forget anything.

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Hope, do you want to help Nana look for these biscuits?

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Erm, erm... the toothpaste.

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I've checked everywhere.

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So you've checked in the fridge?

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In the fridge? It's not in the fridge.

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Toothpaste.

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Aren't I stupid?

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HOPE GIGGLES

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I hope that these tablets are going to make Mr Alzheimer's

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go away forever.

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-That looks like an elephant to me.

-Where?

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Oh, yeah!

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-I can see a dragon.

-Where?

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Oh, yeah, there, there!

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So how is your nanny doing?

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Do you find it a bit scary sometimes with your nan?

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Yeah.

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Mr Alzheimer's is like an angry cloud.

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It feels like he clouds Nanny's brain

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and stops it working.

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We'll just add it to it.

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Now, now, squeeze again with your one hand and roll.

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OK? You know what's wrong with Nanny, don't you?

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Mr Alzheimer's has come out, hasn't he?

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He's come out a bit worse, hasn't he?

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This is why Nanny is teaching you these things. All right?

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For your future.

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It's not as hard as it looks, is it?

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-It is as hard as it looks.

-No.

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On the grill, oh, that's your favourite.

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When I was seven...

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..my mum passed away.

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This box helped me with all my sad times.

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This is...

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when Mummy and Daddy got married.

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That's one of Mummy's hair bobbles.

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I was scared...

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..and it was frightening.

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The hardest thing was I wouldn't see my mummy again.

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Nan's forgotten that we've had an ice lolly.

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'Daddy wants me to stay with him but I've chosen to stay with Nanny.'

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Get away!

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Shall I do this bit?

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It's Grandad's birthday soon

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and I've got a special plan to help save his memory.

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This is, um... Well, it's a box, as you can clearly see,

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but it's a special kind of box.

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It's like a memory box.

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I'm going to get the most important memories from my grandad's life

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and put them in the box to keep them safe.

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I'm a bit scared that one day he won't remember me.

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You just... I'm, like, praying that it will just work.

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I'm going to visit Grandad today.

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It's his first Christmas being in a care home.

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It was getting too dangerous for him to be on his own in a flat.

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-Aren't you lovely.

-You all right?

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THEY MURMUR

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'It is hard sometimes.'

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'I worry about what he's thinking.'

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'If he's happy or if he's upset, cos he's in his own world.'

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'I wish I could have a normal chat with him, but I know that I can't.'

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'You can't just make the illness go, because it won't.'

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'But you can try and put money towards medicines

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'and the care homes.'

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I have decided to do a sponsored walk.

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Talk right into it.

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This morning we are joined by a very special guest.

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-Ella. Good morning, Ella.

-Morning!

-Whereabouts are you from?

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-Kidderminster.

-Old Kiddy!

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Tell us about your grandad to start.

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Well, he's got dementia. He's had it for a few years now.

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He used to take me to the park and play with me on the swings,

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but he wouldn't be able to do that now.

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So I'm doing a ten-mile walk

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and I'm collecting sponsors for it.

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All the money will go towards Dementia UK,

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who do a lot of research.

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All this money raised is going to go to a great cause.

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Thank you for coming in this morning. Ella, everybody.

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THEY CLAP

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I hate walking. I prefer to ride instead or round the track.

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-Go and take selfies!

-Yeah. We'll sponsor you. I'll sponsor you.

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£20.

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What did you do on the weekend?

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Today is my last day at primary school.

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Basically, I'm a grown-up.

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Well, almost.

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ALL: Good morning, Mrs Hanson.

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My grandad's come to watch my leavers' assembly.

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And our sportsman-of-the-year is going to Josh.

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APPLAUSE

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CAMERA CLICKS

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We're proud of you, son.

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The boy done good.

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You've been to the bank and everything?

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'This is one of my favourite memories because my grandad

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'was so proud of me. I really don't want him to forget it.'

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How was your weekend with Daddy?

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It was amazing.

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Well, Mr Alzheimer's wasn't very nice on Saturday.

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So I'm glad you went away.

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SHE YAWNS

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Oh, that's a big yawn.

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HOPE SINGS

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NANNY LAUGHS

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Your hair won't go straight if you don't eat the crust.

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It's curly, that's fine.

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NANNY LAUGHS

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Oh, yes. I'm going to take my tablets.

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Hi.

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-OK, good girl.

-Good girl.

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That's for blood pressure.

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What's that one for?

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To defeat Mr Alzheimer's.

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To defeat him? No, darling, I can't defeat him.

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No, no, no.

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That's one thing, I... Hope.

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Hope, look at Nana.

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Nanny wishes she could, but I can't.

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Mr Alzheimer's is a lot stronger than Nanny.

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All right?

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But those tablets there...

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..slows him down.

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He's not going to go away, sweetheart.

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Did you think that?

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No, darling.

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I didn't realise you thought that.

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Honestly, you've shocked me now today.

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Nanny wants me to understand more about Mr Alzheimer's,

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so we are going to a daycare centre.

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-Hello!

-Hiya, Mary.

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-Nice to see you.

-This is Hope.

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-ALL: Hello!

-Hello!

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THEY CHATTER

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When Mr Alzheimer's comes out, what do you feel like when he comes out?

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It's hard to explain, really.

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Yeah, we get through it because we are all strong,

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-because we're all together.

-Yes.

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-Now you understand why I come here and I come home happy?

-Yeah.

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Because I'm with nice people and I have fun here, don't I?

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Even though the pills won't make Mr Alzheimer's go away forever,

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I still hope Nanny feels better.

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I make her happy by doing silly things

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and I tell her how much I love her.

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And we forget about Mr Alzheimer's.

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-Hello, Grandad.

-Hello, son.

-You all right?

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-What are you doing here?

-Is dinner nearly ready?

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Oh, you'll have to ask the cook about that.

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Can you just come upstairs with me, please?

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What do you want me for?

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I've got my stick here so I'm all right.

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That's better. Off we go.

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I've put, like, Grandad's memories on it.

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So basically, Grandad, Nana.

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Don't know who that is. Don't know who that is.

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Love to Uncle from Bill, 1940.

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There, Grandad was eight years old.

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Grandad has so many memories I don't know about,

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and they're all disappearing because of his dementia.

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Oh, I think it is that. Can you see it?

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Ah, yes.

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You see him wearing it?

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Oh, yeah. Looks very smart.

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'Grandad, I've been on the radio.

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'Do you want to hear it?'

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'A round of applause for our special guest, Ella, everybody.

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'She's in this morning.

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-'What does your grandad suffer from?

-Dementia.

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'Right, and what exactly is that?

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'You start to forget things and you get your words mixed up.

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'Now, one of the challenges you have... Cos you've to try and raise

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'a lot of money, aren't you? What's the...'

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'The people who would say, "What's the point in going to see him

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'"if he can't understand anything?"'

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It's better to try than not try.

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It makes a difference.

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-HE MUMBLES

-This body...

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And I breathe.

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You will do it.

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Yeah, come on, ride.

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You love your dad? Good girl.

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Come on, ride fast, then. There we go.

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'Nanny's still taking her medication,

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'but it's still getting a bit worse.'

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So I know you're helping Nanny, and that's what you like doing,

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don't you? But you know, if it gets too much living at Nanny's,

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you know you can just live with Daddy.

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I miss you all the time. You know that, don't you?

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Yeah?

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We're going to see the man...

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the special Alzheimer's doctor.

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The doctor now will tell me

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if it is progressing.

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-Do you know what progress means?

-No.

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There you go. If Mr Alzheimer's is getting worse.

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Are you nervous?

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Yes, I am.

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-I'm going into my appointment.

-OK.

-Bye.

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-How are you today?

-OK.

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-Are you coming, too?

-Yeah.

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That was fun at the garden, wasn't it?

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Playing ball and bowling and things like that.

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That was fun.

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But unfortunately, we can't have that fun all the time

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because naughty Mr Alzheimer's is coming out a lot more lately.

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Are you angry at me?

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No, I'm not angry at you at all.

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It's not you. I'm not angry with you, Hope.

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I'm angry with Mr Alzheimer's.

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-OK?

-Yeah.

-You ready?

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Now, I don't want you to get upset.

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OK?

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Mr Alzheimer's is progressing now.

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But he told me straight now,

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Mr Alzheimer's is out there.

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And me and you have got to knock him back.

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Have you got any questions to ask Nan?

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How are you feeling?

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I'm sad.

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-But I've got you, haven't I?

-Mm-hm.

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So I can't be sad, can I?

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I'm always there for you, always.

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So we've got to keep on laughing and keep on smiling.

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Beep-beep. Here we go.

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You're going to find it difficult, Josh.

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JOSH GRUNTS

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This is why I do athletics.

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'We've come to Brighton for Grandad's birthday.'

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I think Grandad's going to like this.

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I'm going to give him the memory box.

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Fingers crossed he likes it.

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He probably does not have a clue.

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Oh, here he comes. Quick, quick, quick.

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One, two, three, down. You landed.

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Happy birthday, Grandad.

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Thank you very much.

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I'm doing my sponsored walk today.

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SHE LAUGHS

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-A special one.

-A special one?

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-"Dear Grandad, enjoy your lovely day and keep these..."

-Memories.

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"..special memories.

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"Love, Joshua."

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Oh, I see.

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-Spitfire.

-Yes.

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GRANDAD CHUCKLES This, believe it or not, is me.

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-My knot tie.

-When did you wear that?

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At the wedding. At THE wedding!

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-Now that's us on our wedding day, isn't it?

-Yes.

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That is us, mate.

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-Yeah, it's taking a selfie at my last day at school.

-Oh, was it?

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-The last day at the school that you were at?

-St Patrick's.

-Yeah.

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-You came along and saw him.

-Remember?

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No, I won't kid you that I do. No, I'm sorry.

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It was a big assembly, and you came and all the children,

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all his year got trophies, but Josh what did you get?

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Sportsman award, remember?

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Oh, yeah, I do vaguely remember it, yeah.

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It was a bit upsetting that, cos I thought he would have

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remembered that one, but he didn't, so, yeah.

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I was a bit sad because he can't really remember new stuff now so...

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Yeah.

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HE BLOWS

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# Cos I'm on top of the world, ay

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# I'm on top of the world, ay

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# Waiting on this for a while now

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# Paying my dues to the dirt

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# I've been waiting to smile, ay

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# Been holding it in for a while, ay

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# Take you with me if I can

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# Been dreaming of this since a child

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# I'm on top of the world. #

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Oh, lovely.

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SHE WEEPS

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All, it's come, all, all, all...

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Yep, all came.

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And it's beautiful.

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HE SINGS: # Oh, beautiful

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# Beautiful

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# It's you

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# I can't

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# I behold

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# I had...I had you

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# Do you, and for you

0:26:010:26:06

# Having you again

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# And a man

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# The man is beau... #

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THEY CHEER

0:26:190:26:22

I know that I have to live with Daddy soon,

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so I am going to have as much fun as I can with Nanny while we still can.

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I'm going to my secondary school. I feel very ready.

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Maybe because sometimes over the summer, by helping Grandad,

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yeah, I feel a bit grown-up.

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Ooh, look at you!

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This letter is for Hope, for the future.

0:27:070:27:11

My speech is going now,

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so it will tell her

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how much she meant to me and she'll always be in my heart.

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HE SINGS

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'Before it was quite hard for me to communicate to him

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'and I really didn't know how to.'

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When he laughs and sings,

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it makes me happy

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because I know then that he is happy.

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We're basically fighting a losing battle.

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What keeps us going is that I want to keep my grandad going,

0:28:000:28:03

so that's basically the main cure.

0:28:030:28:07

# We'll go up, up, up

0:28:070:28:09

# But I'll fly a little higher

0:28:090:28:11

# We'll go up in the clouds because the view is a little nicer

0:28:110:28:16

# Up here, my dear

0:28:160:28:21

# It won't be long now It won't be long now... #

0:28:210:28:25

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