Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.  Ataxia UK recommend donating through JustGiving because it is simple, fast and totally secure. My understanding is that your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. They'll send your money directly to the charity and 'collect' Gift Aid too.

My diagnosis of spinocerebellar ataxia was confirmed in 2011 (“with spasticity” was added later!). For those of you that don’t know, ataxia is a long-term health condition or genetic disorder that gradually gets worse. It is a progressive neurological condition that disrupts the messages sent from the brain to muscles.

It is currently affecting my balance, coordination, gait, swallowing and speech. I also occasionally get vertigo and some visual disturbance. I can expect these things to get worse, to have greater difficulty walking and to have poorer muscle strength (stiffness and discomfort). I think of my diagnosis in genealogy terms: although I know what family I’m in (i.e., ataxia) after numerous tests I don’t know what family member I am (e.g., SCA 6 etc)! This is because my faulty gene has not been identified and, as a result, no specific prognosis is available to me.

In the mid to late 1980s I did some work in, and visited, the Yorkshire Dales and particularly liked the landscape. I was inspired by the Three Peaks (i.e., Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough) and vowed to walk all of them consecutively one day. My sense is that I should do it now, whilst I still can! I’m going to try to walk (and scramble) them, in three days, on 20th, 21st and 22nd of September 2022. The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge involves doing all three peaks, one after another in a circuit, in under 12 hours, which I feel is beyond me now! But my sense is that trying to walk them in three days is something that I could do. My estimation is that by doing the peaks in sequence but separately I’ll cover approximately six miles per day and climb a total of 1460 meters (i.e., Pen-y-ghent = 500 meters of climbing, Whernside = 490 meters of climbing and Ingleborough = 470 meters of climbing).

I don’t expect it to be any less of a challenge for me; partly because of my slowness, discomfort and relative weakness, but also because I become very fatigued and less coordinated quickly. As a result, I suspect that the biggest challenge for me is likely to be starting days two and three (although finishing each day, and descending from each peak, could be challenging too)! My muscle pain and vertigo will also be problematic.

I’m indebted to Mark and Hazel, my friends who live in the area and have very kindly offered me B&B and transport whilst I’m there. By doing so they have made it possible for me to try and do the walks. Steve (or as I remember him, “Scruff”) has been a good source of advice too. Thank you.

I’m doing the walks to raise money and awareness of ataxia – it’s my way of saying thank you. I am particularly indebted to Ataxia UK (see https://www.ataxia.org.uk); having received, and benefited from, free advice, guidance, information, research and support. In particular, I am thankful to the local support group (thank you Ann), specialist medics in London, for the Ataxia UK monthly newsletters, the Ataxia UK website and the Ataxia UK Helpline. Although it would be great to raise a lot of money for Ataxia UK I am acutely aware of how difficult it is to do anything on a low income (particularly when prices are rising), and hope, therefore, that if you feel unable to contribute financially at this time (or even if you do) you will increase awareness of ataxia by letting your friends, family and associates (including anyone knows me) know about what I plan to do and ataxia.