Byron saddles up to ride 100 miles for memory loss
Byron Batten works as Head of Communications at University Hospitals Birmingham and, through his own work, he gets to see the amazing difference that the staff across the Trust make to their patients' lives every single day.
Byron is a keen cyclist and is currently preparing for the epic 100 mile Velo Birmingham & Midlands 2019 ride on 12 May. Byron is raising money for Ward 30 at Heartlands Hospital, a ward which cares for patients with dementia.
The team on Ward 30 (pictured above with Byron) work hard to make dementia easier to live with, and Byron has a very personal connection to this important cause.
Byron's miles for memory loss from Byron Batten on Vimeo.
Byron said: "My mum is a fighter, resilient, with bags of get up and go. She'd beat me any day in a fitness challenge and at the beatiful age of... she can still touch her toes! Well, actually she can touch the floor, palms down!
"What she can't do so well, to her frustration, is remember. Remember if she locked the front door, that she's told me what she did last week, five times already. Remember what day of the week it is. Or even what she did an hour or minutes ago.
"To me, my mum is a hero. What she can tell you is of her amazing and fortitudionous upbringing, with great detail; from her country of Jamaica to raising a family here. The many companies she ran, the achievements she accomplished and the people she met. She tells a great story of her past."
Speaking of what he hopes to achieve by cycling Velo Birmingham & Midlands 2019, Byron said: "It's my turn to create some history. Inspired and moved by my mum and other mums, dads and people who are challenged with the effects of Alzheimer's, I'm taking on 100 miles on a bike."
Heartlands Hospital Charity raises money to fund 'added extras' that are over and above that which the NHS is able to fund, and thanks to Byron's fundraising, the ward will be able to buy extra items for their patients.
Byron said: "The team on Ward 30 at Heartlands Hospital are making great strides in improving early diagnosis and treatment of dementia, the effect of Alzheimer's, through their memory clinic. I want to help them do more of the outstanding work they do."