Dugdale Nutrition Production Operative, Lee Harbord, has taken on the immense challenge of walking 'The West Highland Way' in August, to raise valuable funds for Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
The walk is a long-distance route in Scotland, totalling 154km (96 miles), running from Milngavie, North of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. Throughout the journey, Lee will have to carry all of his own equipment, camp, cook and keep himself as comfortable and as safe as possible.
Lee was inspired to undertake this challenge to help his friends little boy, Ashton Barton, and other children that attend Alder Hey Children's Hospital. Ashton has a complex heart condition called Hypo-plastic Aortic Arch. This heart condition means he has needed heart surgery at 8 days old, 8 months old and again at 4 years old. After his second surgery he suffered a stroke and was left with left-sided Hemiplegia and is subsequently in and out of hospital. He has also just recently been diagnosed with Epilepsy to add to his ever growing list of health conditions. Ashton is due to have open heart surgery again within the next 2 years.
Ashton recently spent some time in Royal Blackburn Hospital and a state of the art game console trolley helped him to pass the time. 'TheRockinR' is a device loaded with latest games and is mobile enough to be transported easily around the hospital.
Unfortunately countless children are admitted to Alder Hey every year and many like Ashton will be patients for weeks and months at a time. Although the treatment they get is nothing short of miraculous, keeping their minds occupied whilst they recover is a huge task in itself. Following conversations with Ashton's parents, Liam and Sophie, it was agreed that any donations Lee receives through his sponsored walk will be put towards buying 'TheRockinR' medical gaming cart for Alder Hey Ward 1C, which has saved Ashton's life on numerous occasions.
Not underestimating the extent of this challenge, Lee has been spending much of his spare time training for the upcoming walk, hiking and exploring Lancashire and beyond with friends, his partner Kirsty, his two sons and his beloved Border Collie, Floss. We thoroughly admire his determination and commitment to this challenge and enjoy following his progress on his social media channels.
Wanting to raise as much money and awareness as possible, Lee has decided to plan a local walk, '10 miles and 10 pubs,' inviting anyone from the local community who wishes to take part on Saturday 29th July, starting at the Rose & Crown Hotel in Clitheroe. He has created a local walk around Clitheroe and it's surrounding villages, whilst stopping at 10 selected pubs along the route to enjoy a pint of ale or an alcohol-free drink. Lee is asking for a £10 donation to join the walk and all proceeds will be added to donations received for the main walk in August, for 'TheRockinR' cart.
To find out more about the 10 Miles 10 Pubs Walk, please follow this link:
To sponsor Lee's West Highland Way challenge, please follow this link:
Lee is extremely grateful for any donations, no matter how big or small.
On behalf of everyone at Dugdale Nutrition, we wish Lee the very best of luck with both walks and are incredibly proud to have him at part of the DN Team.
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