Watching his feat on television, Payne's daughter, Nicky McArthur, told her mother, "Look at what Tom is doing. We should turn your stair climbing into something."
Suddenly, Payne's regular exercise routine on wet and windy Scottish days was transformed into her own fundraiser for the NHS in gratitude for the care for her husband, Jim, received before he died on Christmas Day last year. Three other charities, NHS Highlands, Highlands Hospice and RNL will also benefit.
Her desire to help struck a chord in a country where 42, 927 people with the coronavirus have died and the efforts of the NHS have been heralded as nothing short of heroic.
Payne has raised $802,000, much of which came in small donations from people who were struggling in the pandemic. Among her many fans are Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, who wrote to Payne to praise her accomplishments.
"There could hardly be a better example of this indomitable spirit than your own magnificent efforts in raising money for vital charities," Charles wrote. "It is people like yourself who show that, for every hardship there has been a hero - or, of course, a heroine.''
Payne seemed properly pleased with completing her epic climb, in part because it helped her show herself what she could do, to move past her own personal grief and to help others. Her telephone keeps ringing sometimes with reporters, sometimes it is just people who want to cheer her on.
"I can't imagine myself ever doing anything like this again," Payne said. "But I think that it is important, as you get old, that you don't sit back and think 'I'm getting old, I can just relax.' If you want to keep going, you must keep active, and keep walking.''
- AP
