AN Ulverston man who was told he had just three years to live is preparing for the biggest physical challenge of his life – seven years after receiving the devastating news.

Sion Jair, a keen walker and photographer, has defied doctors and medics to prove life doesn't end when dementia begins.

The 66-year-old, of Larch Grove, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease four years ago and three years prior to that was told he had pernicious anemia, a disease which was expected to kill him within 36 months.

However, Sion is still alive and is setting out on his toughest challenge yet – a 28-mile mountain hike from Coniston to Keswick, via England's highest mountain Scafell Pike, with his partner, Wendy Kolbe, 63.

During the incredible charity hike this summer, the pair will climb 9,327ft in 12 mountain ascents, which is roughly a third of the height of Everest.

'Mountains are my gym'

Sion has climbed Coniston Old Man almost every day, including on Christmas Day, since his diagnosis, and believes the physical endurance has limited his dementia symptoms.

He says: "It's the physical activity that keeps my Alzheimer's at bay. They are definitely linked. The more physically I do, the better place I am mentally.

"These mountains are my gym. I do all my thinking up here and I'm convinced the time I spend out walking is slowing down the progression of my dementia.

"It's only when I stop being physically active for any length of time that I experience more acutely the memory loss and other mental problems associated with the disease."

Two life changing conditions

Sion's first diagnosis of pernicious anemia and the news he had just three years to live was a huge shock for the former machine tool engineer to come to terms with in 2009.

The condition is caused when the body doesn't manufacture vitamin B12, which is needed for the production of oxygen carrying red blood cells.

It can lead to serious complications such as brain and nerve damage, heart problems and cancer. As the term "pernicious" means "deadly", it can be fatal.

Sion says: "It's more serious than anemia and they gave me three years to live. 

"Physical activity helped my body adjust to low levels of B12 and I haven't died from it, which people do, after three years.

"The fact I keep going up mountains has kept me alive."

Just as Sion was coming to terms with his life-limiting illness, he was hit by another bombshell - the D word. Dementia.

This diagnosis of Alzheimer's in 2012 was even more of a surprise as the pernicious anemia had been masking the symptoms of dementia due to their similarity such as tiredness and numbness.

Daily challenges

Specifically, Sion has front lobe degeneration, a rarer form of dementia, which is more common in younger people under the age of 65.

It is caused when nerve cells in the frontal lobes of the brain die and tissue gradually shrinks, leading to sudden changes in personality and difficulty understanding words and sentences.

As dementia does, Sion's condition varies from day to day but typically he can have trouble remembering things and can be easily confused. Other problems include poor directational and spacial awareness.

Inspiring fundraising mission

Despite all of his health challenges, the former draughtsman is focusing all of his energy on the upcoming 28-mile trek in the Lake District, which he is doing to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society and Mountain Rescue England and Wales.

He has recruited Wendy, a community organiser and former councillor, to keep him company on the gruelling hike.

The couple have set themselves a target of £1,000 and are appealing for sponsors on two Justgiving pages.

For the Alzheimer's Society, click here . 

For Mountain Rescue England and Wales, click here .</strong>

They met just over a year ago and have been inseparable ever since.

Wendy says: "Sion didn’t tell me about his dementia straight away and by the time he did it was too late. I’d already fallen in love with him.

"He’s a very special person. We spend most of our time together – I think I’ve been up and down more mountains in the past year than I have during the rest of my life."

Mountains to climb

Sion and Wendy will climb the following 12 mountains in order on one day between June 27 and July 17, with the day picked dependent on the weather:

1) Coniston Old Man

2) Swirl How

3) Crinkle Crags

4) Bowfell

5) Esk Pike

6) Scafell Pike

7) Great Gable

8) Green Gable

9) Dale Head

10) Robinson

11) Grasmoor

12) Grisedale Pike

New focus

With so much uncertainty in his life, Sion is very clear about the reason behind the endurance marathon challenge – to prove life doesn't end with such a harrowing diagnosis.

He says: "I want to make people aware it's not the end of everything. There's still a lot you can do to keep your body and mind active.

"I'm well used to climbing mountains but to put them together in one route will be a challenge.

"Personally, I don’t fear the future. I will keep active for as long as I can and make the most of the time I have left.

"If I were to die in these mountains, I’d die a happy man."

Dementia facts

- Dementia is a term that describes a symptoms associated with a decline in memory and thinking skills. Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of cases.

- Symptoms of dementia can include impaired memory, impaired communication, confusion with times and dates, poor ability to focus and pay attention, lack of reasoning and impaired visual perception.

- Research shows that 850,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia.

- In less than 10 years a million people will be living with dementia. This will soar to two million people by 2051.

- 225,000 will develop dementia this year, equating to one person every three minutes.

- Dementia costs the UK economy over £26bn every year. This is the equivalent of more than £30,000 per person with dementia.

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