On the 4th August 2020, my mum had a haemorrhagic stroke which has resulted in her left side of her body being paralysed. Due to the severity of the stroke, she was in hospital for 16 and a half weeks. Initially, at Salford Royal for the first two weeks and then was transferred to a local hospital, Furness, for the remaining weeks. Whilst in Furness, she was also unlucky enough to catch COVID-19 for four weeks. Although fortunately she wasn’t ill with it, it limited her progress as her physio was confined to a box room. Despite this, through her incredible hard work she is now able to move the left side of her face and more impressively her left arm has also started to move. However, as a family we are determined that her development cannot stop here. We have been shown the opportunity of STEPS in Sheffield, a residential rehabilitation centre for strokes. STEPS will provide an intensive course of physiotherapy, neuropsychology, speech and language therapy, medical care and music therapy in order to aid her recovery. We would love to send mum here in order for her to maximise and speed up her possible recovery, gain some independence back and improve her quality of life. Mum would require 6-8 weeks to receive the best care and maximise the opportunities for her possible recovery. This bespoke high level treatment, comes at a considerable cost which is £6500 a week. Due to this, myself and my friend Durks are doing a 40 mile walk around the Lake District with about 4,300 ft of ascent. This will be hopefully completed within 24 hours. We will be doing the challenge in early January, but haven’t set a date yet due to the classic unpredictability of the Cumbrian winter weather. Any money which is raised will go towards the costs of mum attending STEPS. Any donations will be greatly appreciated x

Thanks for reading :) x