How an eight-year-old Leeds United fanatic has rallied round his grandparents in their struggles with dementia

Dementia is a syndrome with the capability of causing memory loss, reduced mental sharpness and difficulty speaking among other hindrances. Seeing his grandparents struggle with dementia symptoms has not been easy for Jack Sanderson of Altofts in Wakefield, prompting him to take action to raise money for charity Dementia UK with a gruelling 10k run.

His mum Amy, 44, explained: “It's very hard for him seeing his grandparents like that. He's noticed a difference more with his grandad, he was young when his grandma was first diagnosed. It's hard for him because his grandma has had it for around six or seven years, he doesn't know any different.

"He just likes to make his grandma laugh because she laughs at quite inappropriate things. Once, we asked him why he was so naughty when we went to see grandma. He said it's because she laughs. His grandad was diagnosed and Jack still has a lot to do with him but his grandad is a bit more limited as to what he can do with him. He's taken it in his stride to be honest. They're pretty resilient, aren't they, kids?”

Sport is in Jack’s DNA, as his grandad is former Leeds Rhinos scrum-half John ‘Sammy’ Sanderson, the husband of his grandma Carol. On Sunday, accompanied by his dad Ben, 45, Jack completed a route spanning 10k and has raised over £1,500 for Dementia UK with his effort. Dementia UK strive to provide ‘life-changing’ care for families affected by all forms of dementia. Their nurses, known as Admiral nurses, are dementia specialists and can help families with complex needs that can arise as a result of a dementia diagnosis.

Amy said: “It's so hard. When I first met Jack’s grandma 25 years ago, she was so different to how she is now. It's had a huge impact because she's not really mobile anymore and can't really speak. It's obviously been a massive change, for all the family, she can have long periods of time when she's the same but you can see her from week-to-week and she's really, really different.

"It's just very hard for them having to do everything for her, whereas she was really self-sufficient. She was chatty and the life and soul of the party. With her not being mobile and able to speak, you don't really know what she's thinking or what she's feeling. It's like a guessing game.”

With Jack too young to enter several organised runs, he designed a route for his challenge with the help of his dad. He set off from Altofts venue The Brig before finishing at pub The Stanley Ferry.

Amy said: “He's quite a sporty kid, he's got a lot of energy. He does a lot of clubs and one he's really interested in is running. He goes for runs with his dad and one day he said he'd like to do a charity run. He formed the idea and we kept the momentum going.

"There was a minimum age on the runs we looked at so his dad has made the route up for him and did it with him. He's been training for it, we got in touch with Dementia UK and they kindly sent us a T-shirt and an information pack, because Jack was doing the run for them. He just wanted to do it for both his grandparents and for other people.”

Additional information on the work of Dementia UK can be found on their official website. Jack’s GoFundMe page remains active despite the run being completed and donations can be made by visiting gofundme.com/f/jacks-10k-for-dementia.