‘BEITHATHON’ on the 29th of September, 2024 a group of kind hearted young farmers from the Beith and District Farmers Club have volunteered to push themselves to the limit by tackling 3 gruelling physical challenges in one day to raise vital funds for four year old Grace Louise Darroch, who has been diagnosed with a very rare genetic disorder called CDKL5.

The challenge begins with an arduous hike up Ben A’an, followed by a 1 mile swim and finishes up with a punishing 5K run around the grounds of Lochshore,

The team reached out to Grace-Louise’s family after learning about her condition. This Warrior Princess faces relentless, untreatable seizures and can have up to 30 a day which is truly heartbreaking to see. Her parents were told that she would have profound complex needs, would not be able to walk, talk or have any purposeful use of her hands and that every aspect of her development would be affected.

However, this tenacious tot has been on a mission to prove the Doctor’s wrong and is making far more progress than was ever expected. Grace- Louise tries incredibly hard every single day to pull herself up onto her feet, to stand by herself and is now bravely attempting to take steps! The Doctor’s involved in her care have been completely blown away with her progress and have now discussed the possibility that with specialist intensive therapy, there is hope that one day Grace-Louise might defy all the odds by learning how to walk. “As a family, to be given this glimmer of hope means the world to us and we are determined to do everything we possibly can to get our Warrior Princess the right treatments in order to make this a reality. We can't thank the Young Farmers enough for offering to help our beautiful girl. It is our hope that one day we will be able to take Grace- Louise to the NAPA Centre in London which provides extensive physiotherapy and specialist treatments which are not available on the NHS. However, a single session costs £115 and the intensive treatment that would be required for our girl starts at £5175 per block, of which she will undoubtedly need several. The treatment is carried out over a three-week period and the cost does not cover accommodation or travel expenses. We have seen so many success stories from other families and believe that the NAPA centre offers Grace-Louise the best possible chance of being able to get on to her feet and achieve a more independent future. To see Grace-Louise walking along beside her three big brothers is our biggest dream. The kindness of the young farmers and all the other amazing people who have supported us has been completely overwhelming, thank you to each and every single person for giving Our Warrior Princess the best possible chance to thrive and prove the Doctor’s wrong.” (Leeann Darroch)

If you would like to be part of her journey, any sponsorship or donations to the ‘’BEITHATHON’ event would be gratefully received!

The team would be absolutely delighted to see as many people as possible at Lochshore at around 4.30 pm to cheer them over the finish line and to help them celebrate this massive achievement.

GOOD LUCK BYFC! 🏃‍♂️‍➡️🏊‍♂️🧗‍♀️🏆🏅