MEDIA: A Ride to Remember

Sam Locandro was living a busy, full and successful life, when at 54 an unexpected illness left him in hospital for three weeks. Diagnosed with pneumonia, and no cause for the infection found, it spread quickly causing irreversible and extensive damage. Three years later, Sam began to decline rapidly and was diagnosed with early onset dementia, leaving him a shell of the man he used to be. Sadly, after another four-year battle against the debilitating effects of dementia, Sam passed away at the age of 61, leaving behind his wife, daughters, and son.

Nick Locandro watched his father go through everything, helped him do basic tasks on a daily basis, and looked after him as much as he could. Nick loved his father very much, and although he is devastated by the loss of the man he looked up to, he is grateful for the years he got to spend with Sam.

A year on, Nick has been trying to expel the negative feelings from his life, and in doing so has decided to raise money and awareness for Dementia Australia by riding approximately 2,000 kilometres with friends Jarrod King and Jamie Huggett from Uluru to Ballarat in 14 days. The three will start their ride on the 3rd of September. 

Uluru was Sam’s favourite, and final, holiday destination, and Ballarat is where he and his family have always lived.

The 14-day ride from Uluru to Ballarat will be a grueling one, both physically and mentally, but Nick says that this will not stop him, because it did not stop his father, who had to face mental and physical challenges constantly during his final years.

Nick is riding to help many other patients and families who are experiencing early onset dementia, which is much more aggressive and quickly deteriorating than the dementia most are aware of in older people. The money Nick raises will go to funding research, education, and support services through Dementia Australia and Eyre House in Ballarat, a respite facility for young onset dementia patients, that was a great help to the Locandro family after Sam was diagnosed.

Please head to Nick's mycause campaign to show your support for this amazing cause, and follow the Courier story by reading the change in mindset article, pedal for awareness article, and mindful community article.