Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Sadly, my beautiful Grandma was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in June 2020 and was given 1-2 years to live, being told she has the most aggressive form of MND known as ALS.

My heart was well and truly broken for Grandma and Grandad; never in a million years did I think it would be someone from MY family. The only time I'd ever heard of MND was from Stephen Hawking! There is such a lack of awareness about this awful, destructive and devastating disease, as you are mentally capable but physically lose everything before your eyes.

Grandma and I have such a special bond and are best friends. Grandma amazes us every single day with her tenacity, strength and bravery- she truly is my biggest inspiration in life. Amazingly, she never moans, she never gives up and she always has the biggest smile on her face, embracing humour against adversity. We truly couldn't ask for a better Grandma. Every day we have with her is such a blessing. Grandad is such an amazing carer to Grandma; I've never known anyone take it all in their stride like him and be so dedicated. I am so proud.

It's heartbreaking to watch someone you love fighting a battle with Motor Neurone Disease, knowing there is nothing you can do to help, knowing there’s no cure available and not knowing what causes it. The MND Association have helped Grandma tremendously, being a brilliant support in various ways from the very start of this journey.

I am aiming to complete a 50km trek along part of the South West costal path in Devon which will finish in Grandma's favourite place, Dartmouth, where her and Grandad spent many happy years hiking. They also took me here as a child, so it holds a very special place in all of our hearts. In honor of Grandma, Mary, I would like to call this trek 'Walking in Grandma's footsteps'.

I am completing the trek between 13th-16th August 2021. The route will start in Dawlish, pass through Teignmouth, Torquay, Paignton, Brixham and then finish in Dartmouth, totaling around 30 miles. The trek will take place over 3 days and I will be completing it with members of my family including my boyfriend, dad and auntie. 

The aim is to raise enough money to help MND research to prevent this awful disease making people suffer like my lovely Grandma has had to. Hopefully one day, the world will be able to help people like Grandma.

Motor Neurone Disease is much more common than people think: a person’s lifetime risk of developing the disease is 1 in 300 (the same size as the average cinema full of people) and affects up to 5,000 adults at any one time in the UK. If I can help just make one MND sufferer’s life more comfortable and help to support their families, then every step is worthwhile.

If you could take the time to donate or share this on your social media profiles, I would really appreciate it. I would love to spread as much awareness as possible and every single pound matters.

Thank you 

Alicia 

xxx