When Susie Shaw’s mother Myrtle Ellis was diagnosed with a rare form of dementia at 67, she felt there was no support available to families of sufferers.
Ms Shaw decided to raise money to provide information and advice to individuals with rare forms of dementia and their carers.
She said: “I struggled to come to terms with her diagnosis. My way of dealing with it was to do a fun run and I raised £9,500. Rather than just put the money into the National Brain Appeal, we agreed that I would create the Myrtle Ellis Fund.”
The fund set up its first support group in London, in 2007, with six patients and their partners.
Today the fund supports several meetings across the UK each year, attracting over 700 attendees.
Ms Shaw, an office manager at the Zionist Federation, has devised a global virtual quiz, which will take place on November 18, to raise money for the Rare Dementia Support Fund.
The Support Fund is part of the National Brain Appeal and the result of a merger of the Myrtle Ellis Fund and the FTD Support Group Fund.
It is the fourth quiz she has run in memory of her mother, a self-taught historian.
She said: “It doesn’t matter where you are in the world you can take part in it.
“We have had people taking part in Amsterdam and Australia. People who want to play make a minimum donation of £10.”
Follow the link for more information about the Quiz.