Towards the end of her life, Esmee couldn't walk or talk and struggled to fix her gaze on anything.She spent the last eight years of her life in a secure dementia unit, very different from the fiery, art-loving redhead she had been, her granddaughter, Dr Vicki Jones, said.But playing music would evoke a hint of her former self."She would actually look at you and there would be recognition," Jones said. "She would hold your hand and she would move her lips as if she was trying to say the words. And she would smile."After her grandmother died in 2014, Jones founded Music Moves Me Trust with music teacher Kath Woodley.The trust - which doesn't charge families or clients - uses music to relieve psycho-social symptoms of dementia.But it's entirely community funded, relying on sponsors and donations.More than 60,000 people have dementia in New Zealand, a number expected to increase to 170,000 by 2050.Read more Music revives failing memmory for dementia sufferers
