“Both my parents had dementia – I don’t know how we’d have coped without Marie Curie”

Dad was struggling to care for Mum – he was developing dementia too. He was doing his best, but it was horrendous for him. I didn't realise at first, but he was also developing dementia. He was struggling to manage the medication for Mum, he was getting confused when we were out. One day I arrived to find he'd called the police because he thought I'd attacked him. After speaking to us at length they realised he was unwell. A few months later, he started going missing, at first for hours, then for days. He was taken to a hospital assessment unit and ended up staying for nearly nine months. They thought he might have had a transient ischaemic attack (a mini stroke).