A man is to embark on a massive fundraising drive - exactly a year after his wife’s tragic death.
Ken George chose today’s anniversary of his wife Donna’s death from a brain haemorrhage to launch his fundraising effort for the Brain Research Trust.
He was deeply moved by a visit with daughter Courtney to the Trust headquarters in London and has now started training for his Six Peak Challenge - taking on the national Three Peaks immediately followed by the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
Dance teacher Donna died in hospital hours after collapsing in her car , after a meal out with some of her dance students.
The 48-year-old managed to pull her car over to the side of a steep road when she was taken ill but died in hospital the following afternoon.
She ran the Georgie School of Theatre Arts at Barncliffe Mills, Near Bank, Shelley, and left two children, Elliot and Courtney.
Her husband runs a film production company in Shelley and is an actor who also appeared on ther TV show, Gladiators.
He said: “I chose the Brain Research Trust as the charity to fund raise in memory of Donna. Our friends and all at the Georgie School of Theatre Arts have done a great job in raising over £7,500 so far for the Trust and I was invited down to see some of their work at first hand.
“Courtney and myself went to their London HQ. We saw some incredible multi-million pound equipment and laboratories but the most fascinating thing of all, and their strongest asset were the people; their scientists.
“They were so passionate about what they did and so focused. It really made you realise what true dedication was all about.
“Some of them would spend 20 years trying to isolate a defective protein in the brain and then another 20 years looking, probing, searching for a cure.
“They don’t allow anything to distract them in their quest to do good and resolve what they see as a problem”.
He said his Peaks challenge was to raise funds for the Trust in Donna’s memory.
“I am planning to do the National Three Peaks of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon within 24 hours and then immediately drive to North Yorkshire and do the Yorkshire Three Peaks, Pen-y -ghent , Whernside and Ingleborough.
“I know it sounds mad but if I just did one challenge, Donna wouldn’t be happy because that would be within my comfort zone and she was all about pushing potential to the limit and seeing what is achievable.
“One of the best legacies we can give to Donna is to remember whenever you think you’ve reached your limit, search for a little bit more, but not because you feel you have to, but instead because you can”.
For more information about the Brain Research Trust go to https://brt.org.uk
