Man, 90, with Parkinson's walks 90 miles for charity

A man with Parkinson's disease has been celebrating his 90th birthday weekend by completing a 90-mile (145km) walking challenge to raise money and awareness for charity Parkinson's UK.

David Treasure, from Congresbury, near Bristol, began the challenge on the 22 January and walked 0.1-mile (160m) loops of his cul-de-sac using his walker whenever he felt able.

His daughter Ruth Treasure Smith said it was difficult to put into words, but she felt "extreme pride" over her dad's achievement.

A GoFundMe set up at the start of Treasure's walk has so far raised more than £3,500, which Treasure said he was "very happy" about.

Treasure has been living with Parkinson's for 11 years, with the symptoms beginning with a hand tremor.

However, the tremor steadily worsened and his walking and balance got very difficult, "but at least I can think straight so far," he said.

He originally wanted to do a skydive for Parkinson's UK but was told not to by doctors so decided to walk 90 miles, with his granddaughter and son-in law measuring the distance of his cul-de-sac for him to begin his challenge.

Grandaughter Imogen Treasure-Smith, 26, said the resilience her grandfather had shown throughout the challenge was "symbolic of people with Parkinson's".

"Every day tasks, like changing a bed, exhaust him, but he walked every day through rain, ice and and heatwaves... that resilience has carried him through."

His daughter Ruth said: "Dad knows in his lifetime there's probably unlikely to be a cure in that time [for Parkinson's] but future generations can benefit, so that's a very big part of his motivation."

Karen Safe, from Parkinson's UK, said: "David is an incredible person to represent the charity" and showed that age and Parkinson's "is no barrier to being active and making a difference to the community".

She said the charity was Europe's biggest funder into Parkinson's research.

"But it's about making people know that we are available to everyone affected by Parkinson's, to help them navigate every day life, and the more people who are aware of that, the more people we can support," she said.

Treasure said he was glad to have finished the challenge and had been grateful for the love and support of his family and friends, which had been "fantastic".

"They have been absolutely tremendous and I'm very proud of them. And I certainly couldn't have done it without Ruth and Imogen," he said.

He said he may continue to take occasional walks - but not for 90 miles.

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