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*Welcome to the CLDF Media Room* | Press Releases | Archived Press Releases | 2005 September 23 - Local Father?s ?Walk Of Hope? For Children?s Liver Disease
2005 September 23 - Local Father?s ?Walk Of Hope? For Children?s Liver Disease
A local father is walking 150 miles between London and Birmingham to celebrate the 25th birthday of the charity which offered vital support when his daughter underwent a life-saving liver transplant. Mel Loades from Whetstone, near Barnet, has organised ‘The Walk of Hope’ in aid of Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF), the only organisation in the UK fighting to stamp out childhood liver disease. Mel’s daughter Anna, now 12, appeared to be a healthy baby with just a touch of jaundice. At four weeks she became very ill and was rushed to hospital. Extensive investigations uncovered that she had biliary atresia, a disease in which the bile ducts become progressively blocked, leading to irreversible liver damage. Sadly, a corrective operation was unsuccessful and Anna’s only chance of life was a liver transplant. After a long wait for an organ donor, Anna underwent a life-saving liver transplant two weeks after her first birthday. Anna made a startling recovery and left the hospital within ten days, a record for someone so young at the time. CLDF offered essential support to the Loades family during this traumatic time. Mel says, “Thanks to a liver transplant and the support of CLDF, Anna is fit and well and you’d never guess from looking at her the trauma she suffered as an infant. Not every family is so lucky and the walk aims not only to raise funds for CLDF, but also awareness of the vital support required for families who are dealing children’s liver disease, all of which need a lifetime of care.” Mel is setting off from Little Venice in London on Sunday, 25th September at 8.30am. Sending him on his way will be CLDF supporters Ted and Susan Silkstone and their ten year old daughter Zoe. Zoe underwent a liver transplant at Kings College Hospital, London in 1998. Mel will be following a route along the Grand Union Canal, passing through locations including Leighton Buzzard, Milton Keynes and Warwick. The walk culminates at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull on Saturday 1st October, where Mel will be a guest at CLDF’s Silver Jubilee annual conference.
Mel has set an ambitious target of raising £12,000 during the walk, with over £5,000 in sponsorship already pledged. Funds raised from the walk will go towards a second Family Support Officer, enabling CLDF to support a further 9,000 families across the country over the next three years. Mel adds, “I am hoping that the people I meet along the route will offer their support and even join me for a mile or two. I will also be dropping in on some CLDF supporters who have organised additional fundraising activity. It should be an exciting, if not tiring, seven days!” Catherine Arkley, Chief Executive of the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation says, "Most people don't realise that two children a day are diagnosed with a liver disease in this country - that's greater than the incidence of childhood leukaemia. Many of these diseases are life threatening, but all mean a lifetime of care. Each year we need to raise more money to fund new research projects, educate more healthcare professionals and support more families and we are extremely grateful to Mel for his support." If you would like to sponsor Mel, or join him for part of his walk, please contact Rachel Markham at the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation on 0121 212 6012 or pledge on-line at www.justgiving.com/cldf Further information on the walk is also available on Mel’s dedicated website at www.go4cldf.co.uk.
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