Hi my names Adam I’m 32 years old and I’m aiming to raise £1500 for the British Heart Foundation. In order to do this I’m embarking on possibly the toughest challenge that UK has to offer. The Three Peaks Challenge. Traditionally this is done within a 24 hour period, however, due to the fact I’m going alone on this I will be doing each mountain over 3 consecutive weekends in July this year. Starting on the 17th July with Mt Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa, then onto Scafell Pike on the 24th of July and then finally hitting Ben Nevis on the 31st of July. 

Why the British Heart Foundation? Well I was born with a Congenital Heart Defect know as Transposition of the Great Arteries and had corrective surgery when I was a few months old. TGA is when the functions of the heart are reversed and the left and right sides of the heart have to do the job of each other. A job that they are not designed to do. All my life I have to live with this and at times it has been tough, both physically and mentally. Avenues open to normal people have been shut to myself such as joining the army or having a tattoo due to my condition. I have to go for yearly check ups on the function of my heart and have to MRI scans as well as frequent stress tests on my heart and I have to medication to regulate this condition for the rest of my life. My condition often leaves me feeling tired and drained when healthy people are able to continue. When I was younger people would often think I was being lazy or docile when in fact I was physically shattered and needed rest. The help of my family and friends often keeps me positive and energised, so I’m partly doing this for them as well. 

Medical professionals do not know why TGA occurs in unborn children and research, although now very modern, has not been able to uncover this reason. Babies with this condition are often given the nickname “blue babies” due to lack of oxygen in blood due to TGA. Procedures have moved on from the early days of the Mustard and Senning corrective surgeries purely down to increase research. This is where the British Heart Foundation comes into it. So far their research as led to greater understanding of the conditions of the heart in babies and adults in later life. Their  work is key in understanding the mysteries of TGA and giving greater life expectancy to babies born with TGA. This why the money raised will be invaluable!

Why the The Three Peaks? We all have our mountains to climb in life. So this 14 stone, middle aged, father of two great kids, Nandos loving, dodgy heart bloke is climbing 3 big ones. Because why not?!