Barbara, 78, prepares to jump again for Memory Café

'I will look after him as long as he needs me Ö' Barbara Mence with her husband, Alan. (Image: Archant)

Barbara Mence is backing the Sid Valley Memory Café Admiral Nurse campaign after her husband, Alan, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2012.

The retired nurse raised more than £4,500 for the Alzheimer’s Society when she parachuted out of a plane in April.

After reading about the campaign and the £100,000 needed to afford the dementia specialist nurse, Barbara decided to raise money for the charity.

Barbara said: “I hadn’t heard of an Admiral Nurse before; I know that there isn’t anybody in Devon.

“What can one person do to help 700 people with Alzheimer’s? They can help reduce the pressure on other services and will save a lot of money.

“This person is a trained nurse and she is there to support families and to help them understand.”

Her 83-year-old husband was a family doctor for more than 30 years in Birmingham.

Barbara says that their work in the medical profession meant they were not in the dark as to the effects of the condition.

Alan also uses the memory café service.

Barbara said: “I was going to do a jump for myself this time because I did not get the adrenaline that people said you get the first time.

“When I think about it, it gives me a real lift.

“Life is pretty difficult. My husband repeats the same question over and over and he cannot remember what I said.”

The grandmother will be taking back to the skies at Dunkeswell on Saturday, June 27. She aims to raise £1,000 for the campaign.

Barbara said: “In April, it was the first time I had raised money for charity. I have always given to charity and we open our garden as part of the national garden scheme, but those are small things in comparison.”

? To donate to the Sid Valley Memory Café skydive, visit Barbara’s page at https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/barbaramence1