Climbing Up, Up & Up for Children’s Charity

An intrepid fundraiser from Sutton Coldfield is preparing to scale the Three Peaks whilst carrying his paraplegic son.

This weekend (June 27 & 28) Pete Haslam will be working as a team with fifteen friends and family members to bring 11-year-old Ted along for the trip - a 23-mile trek across the three mountains, in England, Scotland Wales.

The youngster was left paralysed at the age of three, after being diagnosed with Stage 4 Burkitt’s Lymphoma, an aggressive form of spinal tumour.

“His back was hurting but he was only young and couldn’t articulate what the problem was - but on this particular morning, his legs just stopped working,” said Pete.

“Turns out the tumour was doubling in size every 24 hours.”

Ted was rushed into six hours of surgery at Birmingham Children’s Hospital on the same day, but the family were warned that compression on the spinal cord is irreversible and his level of function at the time would likely not improve.

Today, Ted stays as active as possible, including undergoing weekly play-centred physio and mobility sessions.

But Pete says he’s always been determined to involve his son in the fundraising challenges which will this time, see them ascend a total of more than 10,000 metres across the course of the weekend.

Four teams of four, on rotation, will carry and push Ted in his wheelchair, over Snowdon, Scalfell Pike and Ben Nevis in a gruelling charity mission that’s expected to take up to 30 hours to complete.

It’s all in aid of Warwick-based children’s charity Molly Ollys, which donated soft play equipment to Ted halfway through his intensive treatment programme.

“It was amazing what they did for Ted,” said Pete.

“When you go through all that as a parent, the last thing you’re thinking about is shall we go out and buy something special for him? It’s great that the charity is there to offer that because we were too busy day-to-day thinking about treatment and the odd bits of respite that we could get.

As one of the oldest in the group at 53, Pete admits he’s grateful for the support he’ll be getting from the rest of the team, which includes an ex-Royal Marine, ex-Fire Service and ex- policeman.

Molly Ollys was established in 2011 by Rachel and Tim Ollerenshaw, from Warwick, following the death of their eight-year-old daughter Molly from a rare kidney cancer.

The charity works to support children with terminal or life-limiting illnesses and their families and help with their emotional wellbeing. As well as providing wishes, they donate therapeutic toys and books to both children directly and to hospitals throughout the UK.

To donate to Pete’s fundraising page visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/peter-haslam-1778098385077

For more information about Molly Ollys visit: http://www.mollyolly.co.uk/