COMBER man Colin James has raised £6,000 after taking on a 24-hour ‘sled challenge’ in aid of Dementia NI.
Colin’s dad Rodney was diagnosed with dementia in 2020 at the age of 73. After an initial period of uncertainty as to what lay ahead, he has found a new lease of life since joining his local Dementia NI Empowerment Group in Newtownards and Colin wanted to raise awareness of the support that has been available for his dad at a local level.
From 8am on Friday, July 4, until 8am the following morning, Colin walked the 12.5m length of the Invictus Gym in Dundonald, pushing the 100kg sled. Taking regular breaks and with friends and family with him for moral support throughout the challenge, Colin said he would not have been able to do it without them.
He said: “There were definitely some low moments in the middle of the night as my body felt as though it was ready to give up and the finish line seemed so close yet so far! Thankfully my support team had made sure there would always be someone to keep me motivated and help me push through the pain and the mental barriers, even at 2am, but I knew I had to get there for Dad.
“He’s had such unbelievable support from Dementia NI over the last couple of years I just wanted to do my bit on behalf of my family and anyone else who knows Dad about how he is really flourishing being a member of the organisation. I chose July 4, Independence Day, for this challenge as he has been able to hold on to so much of his independence thanks to Dementia NI.”
For more information visit www.dementiani.org.
