Tony, Stephen, Brian and their family completed a Ben Nevis hike in memory of their mum and much-loved wife, Linda Smedley. The Cornerstone team in North Lanarkshire supported Linda and her family after she was diagnosed with early onset dementia aged just 50.

The family, along with their loved ones, made the challenging trek up Ben Nevis on 17th July. To date, they have raised an incredible sum of over £12,000 to support Cornerstone's work. Below, they share their inspirational story with us.

 

"After an 11-year battle with early onset dementia our wonderful mum, Linda, passed away aged 61, in her own home. By her side throughout was our dad, Tony, who devoted himself to her every need. Sadly, our mum's journey to her final breath was fraught with challenge as we tried to fight a system that fails to provide the right kind of support for young adults with dementia.

"However, one service that helped our family massively throughout our mum’s illness was Cornerstone in North Lanarkshire. Cornerstone's Support Workers were able to provide person centred, practical and emotional support for my mum and our family. As a family, we wanted to do something to give back to the service that had supported us so much during what was a difficult, often uncertain and upsetting time for us all."

"Over the last few months, we’ve been walking, running and cycling to prepare for our main fundraising event - our Ben Nevis climb. In the run up, family and friends have been incredibly supportive with our fundraising, and we’ve now raised over £12, 000 to support Cornerstone.

"We are delighted to say that we completed the Ben Nevis Hike on the 17th July 2021. Our group of 23 participants, all managed to reach the summit and overcome some difficult weather conditions on the day. We have been overwhelmed with the support and donations from so many different people. We are sincerely grateful for every penny contributed by our loved ones.

"Our fundraising for Cornerstone doesn’t stop there. Our local boxing gym MTK are having a charity boxing event at the GM Club in Holytown and they are doing various auctions and raffles for prizes. After hearing our story, they have picked Cornerstone as one of their chosen charities on the night. We’re really hoping this will allow us to push our fundraising target that bit more."

For many people who knew our mum Linda, they will know, that she had so much more life left to give and we know that our fundraising achievements, done in her memory, will have a lasting impact allowing Cornerstone in North Lanarkshire to support people living with early onset dementia and their families in similar situations.