SHA Patron and Olympic medal winning rower Sarah Winckless MBE has reached out to Scotland’s HD community with a message of hope and solidarity as families adjust to a new way of living as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sarah says:
“I am thinking of everyone at this difficult time. It feels that every day things change and we are living our lives with a backdrop of uncertainty – well the HD community, more than anyone is practised at this and I know as a family we can support each other through this.
“We might not be able to physically meet in the ways we’ve become accustomed to, however our network is stronger than physical contact so please do keep reaching out to each other. It is my increasing belief that this might be a marathon, not a sprint, so please each think about your own health and resilience.
“Do something each day that makes you happy, I’ve managed to buy lots of seeds from the garden centre and I am planting in seed trays over the next few weeks. I’m not sure where final plants might go, however I know every time one germinates, it will lift my spirits.
Stay safe and look after yourselves.”
Sarah has been SHA’s Patron for 11 years and is an active fundraiser and advocate for the charity, as well as a regular host of SHA family events. Before the Coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of all major events, she was set to make history as the first female umpire of the Oxford-Cambridge boat race.
Her sporting accomplishments include a bronze medal in Double Sculls with at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and two world championship wins in 2005 and 2006.
Sarah was a university student when tests revealed that she had inherited the faulty gene that leads to Huntington’s disease.