Hard going on hospital walk

A woman walked 95 miles along the West Highland Way to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Mrs June Miller (56) of Marlock Close, Fiskerton, walked in memory of her grandson, Jack, who died at the hospital in August when he was only three days old.

Mrs Miller and her sister, Mrs Sandra Strachan (63) of Cardross, Scotland, walked from Glasgow to Fort William in eight days.

They raised around £2,500 in sponsorship.

Jack had a rare genetic condition, ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTD) that affects the body’s ability to get rid of ammonia. As a result it accumulates in the blood causing hyperammonemia.

It travels to organs including the brain and causes brain damage, coma and death.

Jack’s parents, Mrs Miller’s son Mr Stuart Miller (32) and Miss Anna Greenhouse (37) live in Chelmsford.

The family wants to raise £15,000 for research into genetic conditions at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The walk takes their total so far to around £8,000.

“We walked between 12 and 15 miles a day,” said Mrs Miller.

“That doesn’t sound a lot but when you see the terrain you understand how hard it is. It is more like scrambling than walking.

“I had done all my training on local roads and was walking six or seven miles and thinking that I could easily do more, but many of the paths we walked on in Scotland were like dried-up river-beds so were full of rocks and boulders.”

Mrs Miller said at the worst points she kept saying Jack’s name over and over to keep her going.

She said she was overwhelmed by the support she received.

Mrs Miller said the family had recently received some good news — Miss Greenhouse was pregnant.

“They have had the test done for OTD and everything seems fine so it will be a nice happy ending if we get a perfect little baby at the end of this,” said Mrs Miller.

“We could never replace Jack but it would give us something to focus on.”

In August Jack’s father and four friends are planning a sponsored trek up Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/jacks-trek