A pair of young Bothwell sisters have put their best foot forward and completed a charity walk for Alzheimer’s Research.
Bothwell Primary pupils Evie and Zoe Ferguson decided to walk 6.7 miles every week for six weeks after their grandpa, Fred Hall of Bothwell, was diagnosed with the condition aged just 67.
They were joined in the fundraising by their grandma Eleanor and cousins Freddie and Cameron Birse, who live in Banchory.
And their other cousins Seren, Eilidh and Zara Jones, who are in Abu Dhabi, also took part.
Together, the eight of them managed to raise £3637 for the charity.
Fred’s daughter Jenny Birse, originally of Bothwell, is the proud mum of Freddie and Cameron and auntie to the girls. She said: “Our wonderful, kind, funny dad Fred was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, aged just 67 years old.
“As a family, we have experienced the devastating consequences of this illness, and sadly watched our dad change in ways we could never imagine.
“Alzheimer’s disease is a terminal illness; it is not a result of normal ageing.
“As a family we decided that we would like to raise money towards finding a treatment and a cure for this horrendous illness. That’s when the grandchildren and granny Eleanor decided to complete 6.7 miles every week for six weeks in Bothwell, Banchory and Abu Dhabi.”
Fred, sadly, had to move into a care home during lockdown, which meant the family weren’t able to visit him due to the coronavirus pandemic.
His wife Eleanor has only been allowed to visit him for brief spells in the garden and from a distance, which has naturally caused upset.
Jenny added: “It was so tough as we didn’t get the opportunity to visit care homes for dad and we had to make this incredibly difficult decision armed with information only. Adding to this is that mum is only allowed to see dad within the garden, and he has been unable to interact as dad really needs her sitting next to him, holding his hand.
“So this fundraiser was a good way to put our energy into something positive.
“We just wanted to raise as much money as possible, so we are grateful for every single donation and super-proud of mum and the children for completing it.”
