A woman from Croxley Green is currently walking around the coast of Scotland in memory of her husband, the co-founder and president of The Cure Parkinsons Trust.
Lyndsey Isaacs set off on June 4th, along with close friend Hanya Chlala and black labrador Indi in memory of her late husband, Tom Isaacs.
Tom lived with Parkinson’s for 23 years, and in 2002-2003 completed a walk around the entire coastline of Britain raising funds for research into Parkinson’s – he named it ‘Coastin’’.
Tom went on to co-found local charity The Cure Parkinson’s Trust (CPT) in 2005, and the trio will also raise funds for this charity through the walk. They have named their venture ‘4 Feet 4 Paws 4 Parkinson’s’.
Tom passed away suddenly on May 31st 2017 aged 49, but his incredible optimism, vision and drive towards a cure is still very much at the heart of CPT’s philosophy.
Lyndsey said: “Myself and Hanya, a close friend to Tom and I, knew we wanted to continue to raise funds and support CPT, the charity which meant so much to Tom.”
CPT began as a small entity in the couple’s home in Croxley and has since grown exponentially; to date CPT has raised over £7.5 million for research into a cure, and has seen promising results from innovative drug trials and research projects around the world.
Former England rugby captain Mike Tindall has also recently lent his support as a patron of the charity.
Lyndsey, Hanya and Indi will set off from Leven to walk the scenic Fife Coastal Path to Dundee.
Here they will pause to meet the research team from Dundee University who are working to further understand the causes of Parkinson’s.
The second leg of the walk will take them from Fraserburgh to Findhorn, passing through Banff, Lossiemouth and more.
They will conclude their challenge on June 16th with a visit to Kearvaig Bay, Tom’s favourite place on his Coastin’ walk.
Lyndsey said: “Tom and I met when he was about to set off on his Coastin’ walk, and this feels like the right way to remember him. I’m looking forward to walking the route he took back in 2002, and seeing the beautiful places in Scotland that we didn’t see together the first time round.”
Lyndsey was joined for part of the walk (in the St Andrew’s area) by Scottish rugby legend Gavin Hastings.
CPT is a charity close to Gavin’s heart, as his wife Diane was diagnosed with the disease in 2003, aged just 39.
Gavin has lent his support to the charity on many occasions; he presented CPT’s BBC Lifeline Appeal in 2017, and has supported the charity through British and Irish Lions dinner events, as well as through a golf day at Muirfield in 2014.
Gavin said: “I was so delighted to be able to join Lyndsey for part of this challenge and help raise much needed funds for The Cure Parkinson’s Trust – a charity focused on funding research with the potential to cure Parkinson’s.”
Diane Hastings, along with her daughter Holly and friend Fiona Maran, also raised over £10,000 for CPT as team ‘Shake, Rattle and Run’ in this year’s Virgin Money London Marathon.
Around 145,000 people in the UK are living with Parkinson’s, and it is predicted that 1 in 37 people will receive a diagnosis of Parkinson’s in their lifetime. The Cure Parkinson’s Trust funds innovative research which is dedicated to finding new treatments that can slow, stop or reverse Parkinson’s.
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