TWO REDDITCH brothers who have a rare faulty gene that puts them at risk of dying young with dementia are running the length of the UK to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Jordan Adams, 28, and his brother Cian, 23, both have a gene that can lead to frontotemporal dementia (FTD) – like their mum, grandmother and aunt.
The Pershore Town skipper has run a virtual marathon during lockdown and the London Marathon twice for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
His second marathon was part of a huge seven marathons in seven days challenge where Jordan ran 26.2miles each day from their hometown of Redditch to the capital.
It’s a cause close to home for the family after mum Geraldine’s six-year fight with Fronto-Temporal Dementia (FTD).
After months of back and forth with different GPs and consultants, an incorrect diagnosis’ of depression and different mental health issues including a silent stroke, Geraldine was finally diagnosed in 2010.
At the time of her diagnosis, Jordan was 15, his brother Cian was nine and his older sister Kennedy was 17.
Sadly, on March 14, 2016, at the age of 52, Geraldine passed away peacefully at the family home.
Jordan said: “She was the type of lady who you could not help but notice when she walked into a room
“She was always ready to talk to absolutely anybody and light up your day with her beautiful smile.”
After her death, the siblings discovered Kennedy did not have the faulty MAPT gene, enabling her to start a family.
However Jordan and Cian have both discovered they share the same faulty gene as their mum. This means they will live with FTD in their lifetime.
Jordan often describes his diagnosis as a ‘licence to live’ and the ‘FTD Brothers’ have raised more than £30,000 over five years.
They are due to finish the 903-mile challenge on October 1 and ran through Redditch on Saturday.
Visit justgiving.com/fundraising/ftdbrothers to donate.
