Ishbel’s remarkable dedictation – taken step by step

Representatives of the Isle of Lewis Committee, Cancer Research UK, met Ishbel MacLeod and her husband, Duncan, last Saturday morning at the Woodlands Cafe in Stornoway.

Ishbel’s story is remarkable and a lesson in determination and selfless dedication.

Every year since 2021 she has participated in the annual Walk All Over Cancer Challenge which requires you to walk 10,000 steps a day for the month of March.

As Ishbel says on her Cancer Research Giving page, “This year, however, the challenge has personal poignancy as my sister was diagnosed with cancer but thanks to research is responding well to treatment.

"However, our dear friend Christine Carrick lost her life to this cruel disease after a diagnosis of only four weeks.”

This can be a difficult and time-consuming challenge to do for most people. But Ishbel, however, has an additional challenge.

Her eyesight had deteriorated steadily for many years and she is now registered blind – but that doesn't hold her back. She can be seen on her daily walks along with her husband Duncan, regardless of the weather.

Ishbel and Duncan are both retired teachers. When they married they were teaching at Sandwickhill and Duncan continued there until the late 90s when he left to go to Sir E Scott in Tarbert. Ishbel returned to Sandwickhill to teach in the Gaelic medium classes on a job share basis. The couple have two daughters Katie, who is a teacher herself, and Anne who is a doctor.

When Ishbel first undertook the challenge in 2021 she raised an amazing £4,611 and has now raised £15,070 including gift aid, since she took that first step.

The Isle of Lewis Committee said they were “so inspired and appreciative of Ishbel and Duncan’s dedication and fundraising efforts”.

“They hope that they both enjoy a more restful time over the month of April,~” they added. “A few of us from the committee met with Ishbel and Duncan on Saturday morning for a cuppa and it was just wonderful.”