Suzy Lamplugh’s father tells of his wife’s dementia battle

In a new booklet, Paul Lamplugh describes his determination to give wife Diana as stimulating a life as possible after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2003.

In the introduction to Life is for Living – with Dementia, he writes: “I was determined that for Diana I would make things as active as I could.

“I do not expect others to follow my example, such as it is, but I hope that this booklet will encourage caring relatives and friends to provide for their loved ones as much active stimulation as they reasonably can.”

Miss Lamplugh was 25 and living in Putney, London, when she went missing in the middle of a working day in 1986.

Despite a massive police investigation and enormous media interest she has never been found. She was declared dead, presumed murdered, in 1994.

Her parents founded the Suzy Lamplugh Trust in the wake of her disappearance to campaign for personal safety and were made OBEs for their charity work.

It was at a fundraising seminar for the trust that Mrs Lamplugh, then 67, suffered a stroke which destroyed her memory.

As surgeons cleared the blood from her brain they discovered early symptoms of Alzheimer’s and she needed full-time care from then until her death in August 2011 at the age of 75.

Mr Lamplugh visited her virtually every day.

Dr Desmond Kelly, medical director of Roehampton Priory Hospital, who wrote the foreword to the booklet, described it as an “exceptional” account of one person’s experience of dealing with a loved one’s dementia.

“Although this book may not be appropriate for everybody with dementia – it is inspirational and a unique, moving and truly remarkable story,” he said.

The Yorkshire Post is raising money to help the 58,000 dementia sufferers and their families across the region through its Christmas appeal in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society.

The cash will go towards the vital support and services the charity provides to many of these families across Yorkshire.

We are calling on readers and businesses to help by making a donation or bidding in our online auction, which launches on Saturday when a selection of money-can’t-buy gifts and experiences will go under the hammer.

For more information about the appeal, sponsored by Leeds law firm Clarion and supported by Cicada Communications, and how to donate, visit www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/appeal

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