DUBAI A Dubai resident is taking part in this weekend’s gruelling Desert Warrior Challenge to raise money for the eight children of her sister who is battling a life-threatening heart condition.
Briton Deborah Parmenter, 32, is aiming to collect £5000 (Dh29,391) in donations to be sent to her sister, Samantha’s children – aged between one and 12 - in the UK.
A former prison official in Coventry and the sole earning member of her family, Samantha,36 is unemployed since August after being diagnosed with ‘idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy’ (a condition in which her heart - weakened and enlarged - is unable to pump blood efficiently, leading to decreased heart function that in turn affecting the lungs, liver, and other body systems) early this year.
Declining health
“Doctors say her health is in a rapid decline and we have just two years to prepare her family for the moment when they are on their own. The fundraising money will go towards an education fund for her children to go to University,” says Parmenter, who works as a marketing manager in a media company.
To help achieve her goals, Parmenter has pulled together a team called ‘One Family’, currently undergoing pro bono training under a Dubai-based personal trainer Ahmed Jaber, for overcoming the challenging obstacle courses of the Desert Warrior Challenge on October 17.
To help the ‘One family’ team, log on to: www.justgiving.com/yimby/onefamily
