Scottish Brothers Take on Edinburgh 7 Summits Challenge in Memory of Late Father

On 27th August, Alan Sinclair (42), who lives in Banchory, Aberdeenshire, along with his brother, Andrew (40, Edinburgh), will take on the Edinburgh 7 Summits challenge to raise money for MND Scotland and commemorate the memory of their dad, Alasdair Sinclair, who passed away on May 6th, 2023.

Alasdair was diagnosed with motor neuron disease (MND) in 2001, when he was aged 48. At the time, Alasdair lived in the small town of Thurso with his wife Linda and had three teenage children, Alan, Andrew and Karen. 

When given his diagnosis, the doctor originally gave Alasdair 12 months to live, which triggered his decision to resign from his position as a retained firefighter after 30 years of service with Highlands & Islands Fire Service.  

MND is a rapidly progressing terminal illness, which stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles. This can cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, swallow or breathe unaided and the average life expectancy is just 18 months from diagnosis.  

Although on average, MND will significantly shorten the life of a person living with the disease, MND doesn’t affect everyone in the same way and not everyone diagnosed with MND has the same symptoms, with some people living many years after their diagnosis. 

Alasdair first began to show symptoms of MND when he noticed muscle wastage around his ankle which began causing him to trip and fall. 

Recalling his family’s reaction to Alasdair’s diagnosis, Alan said: “From my memory, it was a bolt out of the blue to the whole family. None of us thought it could be anything like that. You hardly hear of anybody being diagnosed with MND 20 years ago, but we were in total shock and disbelief.”  

Alasdair lived with MND and gradually deteriorated over the years but managed to continue to run his own shoe repair and locksmith business with his wife Linda by his side until their retirement in 2019.  

Describing his dad’s character, he said: “My dad was a quiet and gentle guy, who was very much a family man and living in a town of just 9,000 people, as well as running a local shop, he was very community spirited.” 

While living with MND, Alasdair’s story spread around the community and due to his unwavering positive attitude, he was asked by his MND nurses if he would talk to and support other people who had been diagnosed in the Highland area.  

On the challenge ahead, Alan said: “I’m trying my best to get a bit more walking in, but it can be quite time consuming! I was looking at the distance and at 35 km, my longest walk while trying to prepare has been about 3 ½ hours so I’m expecting it to be about 7 hours without breaks. 

Alan will be joined on the 35km trek (including 900m of ascent) by his brother, Andrew and his partner Peter, along with friends Martin and Derek.  

He continued: “It’s really important that we are doing this as a team and I’m doing my best to mentally prepare for a lot of exercise but looking forward to a pint at the end!” 

Following a short period of feeling generally unwell and a fall, Alasdair was admitted to hospital in February 2023. Subsequently, he was diagnosed with advanced terminal cancer, which was a huge shock to the family because he hadn’t previously shown any symptoms.  

Living with both terminal cancer and MND, Alasdair was given just months to live but wasn’t well enough to leave hospital between diagnosis, sadly passing away on May 6th.  

Alan said: “Dad never lost his positivity and sense of humour continuing to laugh and joke with his family, friends and nursing team until his last day. He requested that any collection at his funeral was in aid of MND Scotland and with the kind generosity of our friends and family, £1563 was donated. 

“I want to carry on my dad’s wish to support MND Scotland and hope that by taking on the 7 Summits, we are able to raise a significant amount of money for a charity that does really important work.”   

Along with family and friends, Alan will be joined by MND Scotland’s Vice Chair to the Board of Trustees, Liz McRobb, who is also preparing to take on the Edinburgh 7 Summits Challenge for MND Scotland.  

Liz is also fundraising for MND Scotland and you can support her here. 

Thanking Alan for his support, Liz said: “I am terribly sorry to hear about the loss of Alasdair and send my deepest condolences to Alan and his family.  

“The care and support that MND Scotland provides to people affected by MND, as well as the pioneering research we fund, is only made possible due to the support of our generous fundraisers and donors and now, thanks to Alan, we can continue to be a helping hand of support for people like Alasdair and their loved ones, so they can make the time they have count with the ones they love. 

“21 miles and 900m of elevation in one day is not a small challenge and on behalf of everyone at MND Scotland, I would like to say a huge thank you to Alan, Andrew, Peter, Martin and Derek for their extraordinary effort. I look forward to meeting you all on the day and good luck!” 

You can support Alan and the team by donating here. For more ways to support MND Scotland, please visit us here.