An Edinburgh woman has taken on the challenge of four huge wild charity swims after her gran was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Kirstin Maclaren, 23, has committed to the series of huge physical exertions, with the final lengths to be a 10km swim across Loch Morlich in September.
Desperate to aid her chosen charity, Alzheimer's Scotland, Kirstin told Edinburgh Live that the organisation have done incredible work supporting people such as her gran, Margo, 77, who was diagnosed in 2020.
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Having a huge effect on their family, Kirstin said: "It's had a big impact and you see the difference in what she was like before and what she's like now, you still enjoy going and seeing her but you can just tell it really impacts her. It just takes a lot of her enjoyment away from things, it can be quite a distressing condition to have. It's not been a nice thing for my gran or any of the family.
"She is fab, very caring, loving, and even now she still says such selfless things to us. I think everyone who knows her would say the same thing, she has done a lot for a lot of people over the years."
Desperate to do something to help both Margo and others in the same position, Kirstin has now taken on two of her charity swims, with one being a 1.5km butterfly crawl across Loch Tay.
With her two biggest challenges yet to come, the 23-year-old explained the training and swimming has been worth it to try and reach her fundraising goal of £1,000.
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She added: "My gran has been a joy in my life, and to see such a strong, caring woman have some of her own joy taken away by this disease has not been nice.
"I think there is much more to be done to care for the people we love who are affected by dementia, and also to find better treatment and ultimately a cure so that less people and their families have to experience the pain of dementia.
"It's a charity that have such a good cause and it's easier to relate when you have a family member going through it, they focus on caring for the person who is dealing with the condition and focus on keeping their dignity and their rights, as well as helping care for them and their family. They're researching into cures and treatments too, for a thing that effects so many people so drastically it's so important to help."
You can find out more about Kirstin's fundraiser here.
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