Emma Herbert, her daughter Lola, and their car, a Peugeot 504 called Clancy with 1 million kilometres on his clock, will be starting their challenge at the end of August.
Emma and Lola – who live in Radstock - chose to raise money for the MS Society, because Emma’s father, Keith, has multiple sclerosis (MS). They’re aiming to drive 5,000 miles over 5 weeks and want to raise £5,000. Emma is also planning to write a book once the journey is finished, with all the proceeds going to the MS Society.
Emma, who’s 41 and a single mum, explains how she came up with the idea:
“My father has had MS for 34 years but until recently had managed to at least enjoy his hobby, cars and driving. Now his health has deteriorated which leaves a big gap in his life. A couple of months ago he mentioned selling the cars which was a huge shock for me, I never expected those words to come out of his mouth. Needless to say, I started to think about what I can do and I came up with this idea. Whilst I can't provide a miracle cure, I can use the assets that I possess to help in my own way.
“Those assets are myself, a car which has already travelled 1 million km and been featured in Autocar magazine, a love of travel and writing and of course, time to do this and share the experience with my daughter before she starts school.”
Emma has planned a route which will lead her, Lola and Clancy through the Loire Valley, the Pyrenees, South of France, Italian Lakes, then to Switzerland and back into France for a visit to the Peugeot Museum. She has pre-booked accommodation as much as she can.
She says Lola is very excited about the trip because “she loves cars, her Grampy is always talking to her about them, and she can’t wait to get Clancy off the ferry.”
Emma says her Dad’s MS affects him in a number of ways. Keith, who’s 74, really struggles with fatigue and has to rest after a few hours out of bed. He has spasms and tremors in his legs and his legs give way quite frequently. Keith also struggles cognitively, and is unable to think straight and process things well. Emma says he’s over the moon about what they’re doing: “He’s proud and would really like to be involved but his health is suffering at the moment, he has cancer as well as MS. He wishes he could go with us.”
You can sponsor Emma and Lola at:
www.justgiving.com/emma-herbert2
And you can find out more about their challenge at:
www.livinglavidalola.com
The MS Society is the leading UK charity for the 100,000 people living with multiple sclerosis in the UK. Most people are diagnosed in their 20s and 30s.
We’re fighting to improve treatment and care to help people with MS take control of their lives. And with generous support from our donors and fundraisers, we’re funding research to help us beat MS for good.
For more information go to: www.mssociety.org.uk
