Some support from Jewish day centres allowed her to keep on working "because I needed to provide for the family financially”.
Lawrence was finally accepted into a nursing home and when he died, Ms Kayman was herself recovering from cancer and had a young daughter to look after.
Determined that no one should have to go through what she did, she wrote a letter to a national newspaper to share her experience and outline her plans to set up a society that would raise awareness.
“I had hundreds of replies from others who were feeling the same as me. Many others were saying they wanted to help.
A few weeks later, she helped establish the Alzheimer’s Society, which today employs more than 100 people.
The North Londoner, a member of Alyth Reform in Golders Green, is now its president and still gets emotional when witnessing the work of its dedicated staff.
“They do everything for people - it means so much to me to see that people are not alone.”
The society has a budget of more than £100 million and, as well as helping individuals, funds research and lobbies the NHS to ensure it provides proper care for patients and families.
“There was nothing like this around when I was going through what I went through with my husband,” Ms Kayman reflected. “There was very little awareness and whatever you were dealing with was swept under the carpet.”
With around 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, she is proud of how the charity has created “awareness and even encouraged young people to get involved”. It works closely with Jewish Care.
