*****TREK IN NOVEMBER 2023*****

2020 has been a difficult year for everyone, events cancelled, people being stuck at home during lock down and everyone having to adapt and change to what is happening. During our time in lockdown we decided we wanted to set ourselves a challenge, to be fitter, healthier and do new things.

Around 10 years ago Ray's Father (Scott's Grandad) Norman Montague had his first stroke, after several other small strokes he was diagnosed with vascular dementia.

Symptoms of Dementia:-

• memory loss
• changes in behaviour
• confusion and disorientation
• delusions and hallucinations
• difficulty communicating
• problems judging speeds and distances
• problems with balance and movement.

People often associate Alzheimer's and dementia with old age and something that is expected, unfortunately this isn't the case, over 40,000 people under the age of 65 are diagnosed each year with dementia. 850,000 people are estimated to be living with dementia and over half the people in the UK know someone who has been diagnosed.

Being unable to visit Norman this year has been a strain on his health and difficult for us as his family, mostly due to the fact he often struggles to recognise who we are.

We do not want any one else to have to go through this and with charities unable to hold fundraising events this year the has been a loss in donations and research will begin to struggle. To help we will be taking part in the Dalai Lama Himalayan Trek and hope to raise a minimum of £10,000 to support research into preventing illnesses that lead to Dementia.

The Trek involves travelling to India with Charity Challenge and taking part in their Dalai Lama Himalayan trek, this involves walking 6-7 hours, 10-15km per day and reaching altitudes of 3000mtrs.

Over the next 11 months we will be going through extensive training which will include climbing Snowdon and the couch to 5k challenge alongside a strict healthy eating plan to make sure we are ready.

We thank you for any donations you can give and ask that you follow our journey at :-

https://www.instagram.com/trekteammontague/

https://www.facebook.com/TrekTeamMontague

Thank you for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.