Dunfermline: 80-year-old daredevil to zip across the Clyde for charity

Hugh Heath, 80, first became aware of Huntington's disease when he met his second wife Rose.

Her four children all inherited the faulty gene from their late father, and Hugh has since raised thousands of pounds for the charity.

“It’s a dreadful disease that devastates families over many generations,” Hugh said. “I didn’t know anything about it before I met Rose back in the 1970s, none of us did. Then after her ex-husband was diagnosed we discovered what that could mean for each of their children."

Huntington’s disease is incurable and hereditary – each child of a person with the condition is at 50 per cent risk of having inherited the Huntington’s disease gene. Two of Rose's children have since passed away and one of her daughters is currently in the late stages of the disease and receives 24-hour care in a care home.

Dr Marie Short MBE, with her family at Buckingham Palace. (Image: Contributed)

Rose's fourth child, Dr Marie Short MBE, is a Trustee at Scottish Huntington’s Association and a passionate advocate and campaigner for improved specialist services for all Huntington’s families, regardless of where in Scotland they live. Her determination inspires her stepfather every day.

Marie’s commitment to volunteering, raising awareness and fundraising was recognised in the late Queen’s 2019 Honours List and she received her MBE medal from Prince William at Buckingham Palace later that year.

She said: “Huntington’s disease is not well known or understood by most of the wider public which means too many people and families are left feeling isolated and alone in their communities. We are all working together to change that by raising awareness and engaging with key decision makers.

“I’m not at all surprised by Hugh’s latest challenge – he always puts a lot of thought into how to challenge himself and how to best inspire people to support by giving money to Scottish Huntington’s Association. Every penny he raises will go a long way to improve the lives of Huntington’s families.”

Hugh, a retired salesman, has done multiple fundraising challenges over the years, and even COVID couldn't stop him. When social distancing forced the cancellation of most fundraising events, he clocked up 2600 kilometres over 12 months as part of the charity’s Big Walk campaign, smashing the 2000-kilometre target and collecting more than £3000 along the way.

Now, after two knee replacements, he is getting ready to scale a 100-foot crane for a high-speed zipwire across the River Clyde. This will be his last fundraising challenge for the charity – and he wanted to make it a memorable one!

He added: “I wanted to do a skydive but my replacement knees ruled that out, so a zipslide is the next best thing. I’m terrified of heights and it’s quite a climb to the top of the crane but I keep myself fit by going to the gym and I walked 15,000 steps every day in March.

“By the end of the month I’d done more than 300,000 steps – I’m only 80, I feel strong, and I have new knees, so there’s nothing to slow me down!"

The Scottish Huntington’s Association hopes that people will join Hugh for the zipwire on Friday, September 8, or – knees permitting – take on a skydive to raise much needed funds. To find out more, visit hdscotland.org.