woman whose parents both died of dementia “channeled all that pain, emotion, and upset into something positive” by taking on 50 challenges to raise money for Alzheimer’s research.
Shelle Luscombe, 51, out Hampton in Londonsaid she wanted to “do something memorable” when she turned 50, so she started inviting friends to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK in 2021.
Ms Luscombe’s father, Ian, died of Parkinson’s disease and dementia in 2017, and just months after beginning her mammoth set of challenges, her mother passed away from Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
After exceeding her initial fundraising goal of £5,000, she has now set her sights on £10,000.
“I think I would be really emotional to do (£10,000), you know, in honor of my mother and father,” Ms Luscombe told the PA news agency.
“Someone asked me ‘what would your mother or father think of everything you do?’ I think they would think I was completely insane.
“My mother was quite sociable, but in many ways quite quiet. And then my father was very shy. But you know what, it has given me such good focus.
“It feels great to channel all that pain, emotion and anger into something positive.”
Ms Luscombe’s challenges are centered on taking care of the brain, with a focus on staying fit, being socially active and learning new things.
So far she has quit smoking, has parachuted from 15,000 feet, has driven a barge ashore. Thames while broadcasting a radio show and performed a stand-up comedy routine.
“All these new things I’ve been trying to do, like learning paddle boarding, it’s really good for your brain because you’re trying to keep your balance and you’re learning a new skill,” she said.
“But you are also in nature and in the fresh air. It’s a bit of practice, so it ticks a lot of boxes.”
Of the 34 challenges she’s completed so far, Ms Luscombe said it’s been “pretty cool” to walk on the bed of the Thames while dropping off a lock.
She said: “It’s a phenomenal amount of water going through that stretch.
“So to be under bridges where the water would normally be very high on the bridge, and to be right under it in the middle was just amazing.”
While Ms Luscombe wanted to complete her 50 challenges between July 2021 and July 2022, that deadline has been pushed back to November this year, giving her 500 days from start to finish.
One of the remaining goals is to learn to ride a unicycle, commit 20 random acts of kindness a day, and circle line pub crawl dressed in orange.
“The one I’m least looking forward to is spending the night in a haunted house,” she said, adding that “completing the Circle Line pub crawl” was one she looked forward to.
And while the challenges are largely enjoyable and fun, Ms. Luscombe said a big motivator was the age when her mother started showing signs of dementia.
“My mom was in her mid-sixties when she started showing signs of it… I mean, that’s pretty scary to me. It’s not far away,” she says.
“I was like, I have to live my life now. That was actually another motivation, for the challenges, I have to get out there and live, because if the same thing happens to me, I’ve only been on it for 15 years and that’s scary.”
To learn more about Shelle’s challenges, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ShelleLuscombeOfficial.