A SOLICITOR is in training to raise money for a bereavement service after first losing her grandmother and now her uncle to dementia.
Clare Reed, who grew up in Brentwood and Ingatestone, said she wanted to run the Half Marathon for Havering and Brentwood Bereavement Service because it was the sort of charity she could relate her own personal experiences to.
Since 1989, the service, which has premises in Hornchurch and Brentwood, has been offering professional and confidential counselling to those struggling to come to terms with bereavement or loss.
Ms Reed's grandmother Kitty Reed died in 2003 aged 91 after suffering from Alzheimer's for a number of years, leaving behind her son John, who had always lived with her at their home in Goodmayes.
Now John, 75, is also suffering from the disease and is becoming increasingly dependent on carers.
Ms Reed, 34, who attended the Anglo European School, said: "I could tell instantly that HBBS was a unique charity, with the insight to provide a service that is a little bit different. I saw the great loss that this caused to the family and particularly to my dad and his three brothers.
"My Uncle John now has dementia and my dad and my other uncles are experiencing the same sense of loss.
"Dementia takes away the person that was once there and leaves a shell.
"As long as I can raise some money to help those suffering from this terrible disease, I will be very happy."
"The training has been pretty tough but I am really enjoying it."
