Ref. 73124-34 Janet Coombe, right, and Rena Cottis who are trekking across PeruA SWINDON social worker will be taking an emotional trek up the mountainous Inca trail in Peru for charity next year in memory of her dead father, who died of Alzheimer's disease.

And it promises to also be a physically exhausting trip for Janet Coombe, who suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes, as she will need to carry all her medicines with her on top of everything else in her backpack.

The 46-year-old mother of three, of Wootton Bassett, who is based at the Old Age Psychiatry department at Swindon's Victoria Hospital in Okus Road, will be taking the trek in May next year as part of a group of 50 people on an Alzheimer's Society organised trip.

Accompanying her will be her 52-year-old husband Christopher, as well as work colleague Rena Cottis, 51, of Bishops Cannings, near Devizes, who is a psychiatric nurse, and her husband 55-year-old Gordon.

They will be spending the next seven months training for the trip, which will see them trekking for up to 12 hours a day and climbing to a height of 4,200 metres above sea level.

The trek will see them walking from the Peruvian city of Cusco, through breathtaking landscapes of cloud forests, river valleys, and mountain passes, to the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu.

They hope to raise £10,000 between them for the trip for the charity, which is the UK's leading dementia care and research charity for sufferers, their carers and their families.

Mrs Coombe's father, Harry Hands, died 13 years ago at the age of 78, after losing his battle with Alzheimer's. For his final few years he was looked after by his daughter.

She said: "Alzheimer's is something that I deal with every day as part of my job and something that I had to deal with on a very personal level with my father.

"It affects different people in different ways and can be distressing for everyone involved, as the victims are often in a confused state, sometimes in the knowledge that things aren't quite right. It will definitely be an emotional journey for me as I am doing it for a cause that is very close to my heart.

"But it will also be quite physically challenging as I suffer from diabetes and will need to carry all my medicine with me, including my insulin vials and extra food in case."

The Alzheimer's Society is hoping to open a branch in Swindon and will be holding a public meeting tomorrow between 12.30pm and 2.30pm at the Pilgrim Centre. Anyone wishing to support the trekkers can send donations to Victoria Hospital in Okus Road, Swindon SN1 4HZ or phone 01793 481182.

Newsdesk