‘Alzheimer’s creeps up on you’, says Oxfordshire fundraiser

“Every day of my life I think about Susan, and I also think of all the people like her that are affected by Alzheimer’s.”

David Ensor, from Shipton-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire, first met his wife when they were children growing up on Merseyside, with the pair marrying in 1969.

But after four decades of happy life together, Susan’s final years were plagued by Alzheimer’s disease – of which she died in 2021, four years after being diagnosed.

Since then,David has devoted his life to “finding a cure for this terrible, terrible disease”, and recently walked from John O’Groats to Land’s End in a bid to raise funding for research projects.

He said his wife, who worked as a primary school teacher, was a “fantastic, wonderful person”.

“We really were looking forward to quite a nice retirement and doing things we hadn’t been able to during our working life – but sadly that wasn’t to be,” the 80-year-old told the BBC.

He said Susan’s diagnosis had been a “bombshell”, adding: “Alzheimer’s is a thing that creeps [up] on you, you don’t really understand that you’ve got it to begin with…

“We cope with it, but the sad thing is that at the moment there is no other ending,” Mr Ensor said.

Following Susan’s death, David diverted his efforts into fundraising for charity.

“Alzheimer’s Research UK is the project for the rest of my life,” he said.

Earlier this year, he took on his biggest challenge yet – raising £31,000 by walking the length of Great Britain.

“…I thought I’ve got to do something before I can’t do anymore,” the octogenarian said of the 1,250-mile (2,011km), 91-day trek.

“…the highlight of the walk was the people that I met – on every campsite people would come up and talk to us.

“The objective was not only to raise money, but also to raise awareness of what research is being done and what the good news is as well as the bad news.”

He has been nominated for an award by fundraising website JustGiving.

“I’m delighted that people want to recognise me, but I just feel that I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do for Susan’s sake and for everybody else’s sake that’s affected,” he said.