Alexandra man Geoff Moore has done a lot of walking over the past few months, and the exercise has helped him cope with his wife’s deteriorating health.

After emigrating from the UK to New Zealand five years ago to be near family, the couple’s lives were turned upside down when Ann started suffering from depression.

Little did they know that was the start of something much bigger. Ann was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and within four years needed full-time care.

Now living at the Ranui retirement village in Alexandra, and not even yet 70, Geoff decided he would start walking to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society, and has raised close to $4,000 so far.

He started with the Dunedin Marathon in early September and next on the list was the Cromwell half marathon on October 11.  

He says he won’t stop until after the Queenstown Marathon in November.

“When Ann was first put into care I was walking five days a week - out at 6am just to clear my head.”

New Zealand currently has 500 new cases of dementia every week, with Alzheimer’s the most common cause - making up between 60 and 80 percent.

The couple would have been married 46 years in December, “if she makes it,” Geoff said.

His advice for anyone new supporting their partner with dementia was to stay connected within the system.

“Don’t hide. The hardest thing is to understand that there is something happening with your partner. But every journey will be different.”

He said donations have continued to come in from around the world, from friends and family in the Northern Hemisphere, and friends and businesses locally and in Australia.

His fundraising campaign finished on November 30 and all the money raised would be spent locally.

Find out about support services for Alzheimer’s in Central Otago here; donate to Geoff Moore’s cause here.

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