Husband's emotional reason for supporting dementia choir at Robin Hood Half Marathon
A man has revealed the special reason why he has decided to run in the Robin Hood Half Marathon this year in support of a Nottingham charity. Phil Chapman’s wife, Louise Chapman, was diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer’s disease in December 2021 and joining Vicky McClure ’s Our Dementia Choir has “immeasurably improved” the couple’s lives.
Mrs Chapman, 65, started showing signs of dementia in her mid-fifties and was later diagnosed in December 2021, three-and-a-half years after her first symptoms. Mr Chapman said: “This is often the case with patients with young-onset dementia.
“Louise has a high IQ and had an exceptional memory so she sailed through all the tests. I was sitting next to her at the memory clinic when she was doing the Addenbrooke's test and I was struggling to keep up with her.”
Mrs Chapman used to work in a high profile job in the charity sector, with colleagues and friends and family starting to notice she “was making mistakes she would have never made before and that there was clearly something wrong” by 2017. Getting a diagnosis was not the only thing the couple, from Hayfield in the High Peak, had to wait a long time for as support was also late to arrive.
“It took a year, but that’s not uncommon. If you're 85 and get a dementia diagnosis, it's part of a list of things you're expected to have and the system will know what to do with you.
“But if you are in your 50s or early 60s and are a socially and physically active person who has dementia, they don't know what to do with you,” said Mr Chapman. The couple was “tearing out hair out trying to get support” when they happened to watch the Our Dementia Choir with Vicky McClure documentary and thought they’d give the Nottingham charity a try.
Mrs Chapman then eventually joined the choir in April 2023, which she “absolutely loved”. Mr Chapman said: “The moment she started singing she just lit up. I got my old Louise back, it was amazing. The moment she joined changed both of our lives.
“Some members of the choir are almost non-verbal but as soon as the music starts, they just come alive. They remember all the words and they're animated, engaged, positive and alive.
“That doesn't just last for the rehearsals. Sometimes, the effect of that can last for another day or so. It just lifts people, it's incredible.”
Mr Chapman, who is a full-time carer, has now set up a fundraiser to support Our Dementia Choir, which has so far raised more than £900. He said: “I wanted to do the Robin Hood Half Marathon because Nottingham is the home of the choir and they're one of the nominated charities and I thought it would be nice to represent a charity that we've benefited so much from.
“The choir and their families, we're like a big family. A lot of the volunteers are healthcare professionals who work incredibly long hours in difficult conditions and volunteer with the choir in their spare time.
“They told me they do it because it's an incredibly motivational thing to do.” The choir is “a secure space where the therapeutic effects of music extend beyond the boundaries of memory”.
They host performances across the UK, from small gatherings to large-scale events, promoting the music’s therapeutic benefits and raising awareness about dementia and its effects on mental wellbeing.
You can support Mr Chapman’s fundraiser here .