A woman from Longridge is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro this October to raise awareness and crucial funds in the battle against dementia.
Laura Travena’s dad, Paul Wood, died in 2025 aged 67 after suffering from frontotemporal dementia, which is a rare form of the disease.
Now, Laura is hoping to tackle the almost 20,000 feet of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanazania with the FTD brothers, Jordan and Cian Adams, after they started a foundation to raise funds and awareness for those suffering from frontotemporal dementia.
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Laura said: “A few years ago, my sister Hayley and I started to notice some bizarre changes in our dad’s behaviour.
“He no longer answered the phone, or wanted visits. He stopped caring about his business and let it slide. His empathy had vanished. He fixated on weird things, like people who’d passed away, and telling crap jokes. He stopped washing himself and cleaning his teeth. His pride in himself had disappeared.
“We started taking him to the doctors. We did our own research and were convinced he had frontotemporal dementia, but it took over three years for us to finally get a diagnosis.
“This was very much our battle rather than Dad’s – he was quite happy in his own little world – but we needed to know how to care for him and how to help him get better.
“Dementia isn’t just about losing your memory. It’s so much more. Dad’s frontal lobes had zero activity. That’s where your personality and decision making happens.”
Since’s her dad’s passing, Laura has embarked on a series of fundraising efforts and the Build and Burn gym in Longridge even arranged a ‘rave run’ to help get donations for her latest cause.
There is also a dinner dance taking place at The Cross Keys, Inglewhite, on 15 August at 7pm. Tickets are £50 and available from The Cross Keys. Entertainment is from Philip and Sam Halliwell.
To support’s Laura’s mountain challenge her fundraising page is Laura Travena’s Mount Kilimanjaro challenge in memory of her dad.
