A family from Medway is taking part in a national TV appeal to help raise funds for the UK’s leading dementia research charity, the Alzheimer’s Research Trust.

The BBC Lifeline appeal will be broadcast on BBC1 at 5.00pm on Sunday 19th October and is presented by music legend and charity Patron Sir Cliff Richard OBE.

Vivienne Hill, from Chatham Maritime, will appear in the film to talk about her mother Mary Crack who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease aged 60.

Now in the advanced stages of the disease, the film shows Mary being visited by Vivienne and by Herbert, Mary’s Husband, at Friston House Nursing Home in Rochester.

Vivienne said: “My mum is now just 67, but is very frail, she rarely says a word; she sleeps a lot and is completely bed ridden most of the time.

"She cannot clothe or feed herself and is completely incontinent. The only real positive things I can say about her are that she still eats (although sometimes with difficulty) and her smile can still light up a room on the rare occasions she can manage one.”

Herbert, Mary’s husband, also talks on the film and describes how traumatic it can be to see Mary now that her disease is so advanced.

“I see her on a regular basis,” he explains, “three or four times a week, but there’s no communication.

"I think that’s the hardest part for me is the complete breakdown of communication, she’s not even aware we’re there half the time. I find that very, very difficult.”

Rebecca Wood, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust said “Vivienne and Herbert’s contribution to the appeal will strike a chord with nearly 18,000 people in Kent who live with dementia, the highest number of any English county.

"But, by talking publicly about their experience with Alzheimer’s, we hope that this appeal will encourage others to help us find a treatment, prevention or cure for this terrible disease and put a stop to the misery it causes.”

Lifeline is the BBC's monthly television charity appeal programme.

For more than 20 years, Lifeline has helped raise money for and increased the profile of hundreds of charities across the UK and abroad.

You can donate to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust by calling 01223 843899 or go to the charity’s website alzheimers-research.org.uk.