31-year-old Daniel Bradbury has wed his childhood sweetheart Jordon, a year after his shocking early onset dementia diagnosis.
Daniel suffers with a rare genetic form of Alzheimer’s inherited from his father, who passed away from the same condition aged just 36 - meaning he now faces the illness at a much earlier stage in his life.
After announcing their engagement only a couple of months beforehand, the couple planned their wedding in a matter of weeks, before the effects of Daniel’s condition could take a bigger hold over their lives.
The father of two-year-old twins, Lola and Jasper, tied the knot to his partner of over 12 years in front of close friends and family.
Emotionally, Daniel's new wife Jordan has shared that her highlight of the day had been 'the beautiful handwritten vows' he read to her during the ceremony.
The mother-of-two explained: 'He later told me that he meant every word, and in the future - when he’s unable to tell me each day, and when his memory fades - that he hopes I remember and cherish those words, as it is how he will always feel about me.'
Now that the couple have tied the knot, they will now focus on ticking other things off the family bucket list before Dan's dementia becomes too severe.
Their plans include a holiday of a lifetime to Disneyland, which they’re taking as a belated honeymoon later this year, and seeing the twins off for their first day of school.
The family are encouraging everyone to unite with Alzheimer’s Society charity and take part in Memory Walk to raise vital funds for dementia research.
Chief Executive Officer of the Alzheimer's Society, Jeremy Hughes, has shared his well wishes with the couple and their work towards raising awareness for the Memory Walk.
Jeremy shares: 'On behalf of Alzheimer’s Society, I would like to congratulate Daniel and Jordan on their wedding. Their brave decision to share their story earlier in the year has not only helped to raise awareness of dementia for the 850,000 people currently living with it across the UK, but now their support for Memory Walk will help to raise vital funds to help us defeat dementia through research.'
Currently, it's estimated that 850,000 people are living with dementia in the UK - with that figure set to rise to one million by 2021. Cases like Daniel's are not unique, like this 39-year-old mother who is also battling with early onset dementia.
Helping the research into dementia is one way you can reduce your own risk of developing the illness.
Words by Alice-Rose Perry
