Indya’s Himalayas Hike for Gran with MND

Indya Auld (27), from Aberdeenshire, is walking in her grandmother’s footsteps by trekking for six days through the Annapurna region of the Himalayas, to raise funds for the MND Scotland.

Inspired by her grandmother Greta (75), who is living with motor neuron disease (MND), the postie from Banff and her dad George (54), will be landing in Nepal this Friday (16^th September), 20 years after her grandmother also visited the same region.

Indya said: “My granny went to Nepal in 2002 for a holiday. I have never been into hillwalking but when I saw the advert for the Himalayas trek for MND Scotland, it just felt like it was meant to be. So, I called my dad to tell him I was thinking about signing up but never in a million years did I imagine he’d want to join me. It makes the whole experience even more special, to do it as father and daughter for my granny.

“When we told her we were planning to go on the trek she was really surprised. She couldn’t quite believe we were going to do that for her. We were all very emotional. She’s done so much for us in our lives it feels like something very small we can do in return to thank her and show our support to a charity that is supporting her. Now she’s really excited and has been retelling stories of her trip to Nepal in the run up to the challenge.”

Indya and George will be joined by 20 other MND Scotland supporters, to raise funds for the charity supporting her grandmother, who was diagnosed with the rapidly progressing terminal illness in 2019.

MND stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles which can cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or breathe unaided.

On her grandmother’s diagnosis, Indya said: “My great-auntie and I were with Granny on the day she got the diagnosis. Although we’d been told it was a possibility, I was still so shocked when the consultant told us it was MND. I remember coming out of the hospital to call my dad and her attitude right away was “it’ll be okay, we’ll be alright, don’t worry.

“It’s obviously been really hard for the whole family but Granny makes it easier with her positive outlook. She never lets MND get in her way if she can help it.”

Not long after Greta’s diagnosis, Indya moved to New Zealand to work and travel for over a year and was surprised to see how her grandmother’s symptoms had progressed when she returned to Scotland.

She said: “When I left for New Zealand she could walk and drive, still do everything for herself. Since her diagnosis there has been a massive deterioration, so it was quite a shock when I came home and saw how much she had changed. She’s now in her wheelchair all day and has carers coming in several times a day. Her speech is also deteriorating, so speaking to her on the phone is really difficult now, which is hard because she lives in East Lothian.  Even with all of this, she just does not let MND get her down and doesn’t let it affect her spirit. She’s such an inspiration.

“Granny never wanted to know how long she had left. She’s been living with MND for over three years now, so we know we only have a certain amount of time and that we need to make that time as precious as possible.

“She’s always been the constant in my life. We really are the best of friends so it’s hard not getting to see her all the time. When I do go down we have a great time – we love getting out and about, going out for lunch or afternoon tea, or even a trip to IKEA can be really fun. She has the wheelchair settings up full speed so we have to be careful not to bang into all the furniture!”

So far, Indya and George have raised an incredible £5,000 for MND Scotland through various fundraising activities and donations from friends and family. All the funds raised will go towards supporting people living with MND in Scotland today, and funding research to find medical treatments for the disease.

Indya said: “Since my Granny was diagnosed, MND Scotland has helped her in so many ways. From providing essential equipment to accessible holiday accommodation. She has always taken pride in her appearance, so she uses MND Scotland’s wellbeing grant to get her hair and nails done, and have a massage, and it helps her feel more like herself. She also goes to the zoom support group every week without fail – she’s even chucked me out of the house when it’s on so she doesn’t miss catching up with other people affected or what’s going on at MND Scotland.

“The charity has also been a key support to our family, helping us all come to terms with, and deal with, my Granny’s diagnosis. We would be totally lost without the support of MND Scotland so I’m glad the money we’ve raised will go towards helping other people.

“We also want to support the search for a cure. Granny was one of the first people to sign up to the MND-SMART drug trial, which aims to find treatments for MND, and she’s really proud she’s been able to contribute and give back in that way.”

Thinking ahead to the trek, where she will summit the 3,210m Poon Hill , Indya said: “This is the biggest challenge I’ve ever done in my life – I have never done anything like this.

“I’m really looking forward to meeting other people who have been affected by MND. I’m a bit of a closed book and can find it hard to reach out or open up, so it’ll be good meeting people who know what you are going through and have that support network.”

Julie Macdonald, MND Scotland’s Head of Fundraising, said: “To see so many amazing fundraisers take on this epic challenge for MND Scotland is incredible. Our Himalayas trek will be challenging physically and mentally but I know the team will be there for each other every step of the way, and we will be cheering them on too.

“Without supporters like Indya and George, we simply wouldn’t be able to support families like theirs. While we continue funding the pioneering research which is taking us closer to a cure, we are here as a helping hand of support, so people with MND can spend the time they have left making precious memories with the ones they love. Together, we will make time count.”

You can support Indya and George’s Himalayas trek here.