Later this month, Liorah Sockolov will be climbing one of the UK’s highest mountains, to raise money in memory of her father, Michael who died from a brain tumour in April 2022.
The 25-year-old who grew up in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, but now lives in Hampstead, will be scaling Snowdon in Wales with her friend, Jenny Harrold for charity. The pair are hoping to raise at least £2,740 for Brain Tumour Research, the amount needed to sponsor a day of research into a cure at one of the four Centres of Excellence located at universities around the country.
Liorah was inspired to climb the 1,085m-high mountain by her father’s love of nature and walking and Michael had even talked about relocating to Llandudno, which is close to Snowdon, before he became ill. Michael was diagnosed with aggressive glioblastoma (GBM) brain tumour in the summer of 2021 after he started forgetting words and his mouth began to droop. Despite undergoing surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, he died seven months later at the age of 68.
According to statistics from Brain Tumour Research, 16,000 people a year are diagnosed with a brain tumour in the UK and just 12 per cent of those survive beyond five years, compared with an average of 54 per cent across all cancers.
Losing her father was very difficult for Liorah as they were extremely close. Michael single-handedly raised her after her mother left when she was one and according to Liorah, they did ‘absolutely everything together. The love we had for each other was unmatched.’
She added: “My dad was such a healthy man, but it still happened to him. I would love to help the charity find a cure.”
To donate to Liorah and Jenny’s fundraising target for their climb on July 29, visit: www.justgiving.com/page/liorah-and-jenny-snowdon-trek-2023.
