In February 2010 tragedy struck my family. My sister, Dr Sarah Lamping, died after a long battle with leukaemia aged 32.
Sarah was a Home Office Scientist and dedicated her life to science with the ultimate goal of making the world a better place.
Sarah endured immense suffering throughout her illness and her courage and bravery inspired me to organise a charitable expedition in her memory to help others who are unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with this devastating and life changing illness.
I am extremely fortunate to have a great friend Jamie Walker who has agreed to accompany me on the challenge in ascending Mount Muztagh Ata which is 7456 metres high (24,757 feet). This is the highest mountain you can walk up on skis with skins from base camp at 5000 metres. We will then ski down the other side. Mustagh Ata is located in China's Xinjiang province close to the Kyrgyzstan border. The climb will take about 8 days but due to extreme altitude a 10 day acclimatisation period is mandatory. The expedition is on behalf of “Leuka.” which supports this expedition. This is a registered charity that entirely supports Leukaemia research at the Hammersmith Hospital and helps fund the Catherine Lewis Centre which is the specialist leukaemia unit within the hospital. Sarah was an inpatient for 9 months where she was looked after by a dedicated team of Consultants, Doctors and Specialist Nurses. Professor Jane Apperley, Chair of the Department of Haematology at Imperial College London, and Professor John Goldman, have indicated the Hospital’s requirement for a special piece of equipment. My aim with my team and your support is to raise £120,000 to purchase a “Microfluidics Apparatus” from America. As Professor Goldman, Professor of Haematology (Emeritus) Imperial College London indicates “ This is sophisticated “state-of-the-art” equipment that sequences DNA and can measure very small quantities of residual leukaemia in patients who have responded very well to treatment with specific anti-leukaemia drugs”. Neither of us has attempted anything like this previously. We leave London on 2 July and plan to be back on 30 July. On leaving base camp we will have to carry all our equipment for 8 days plus skis with a weight of around 25 kilos. The snow can 5 metres deep and we will have to endure temperatures of up to minus 30. Please give generously in support of this very worthy cause
