A man is preparing to blitz Britain’s highest mountains in under 24 hours in a bid to raise cash to help his and other seriously ill children.
Tony Hart, 29, a landscaper from Popley, has pledged to raise £4,000 for Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital’s G2 ward.
He is taking on the Three Peaks Challenge, a gruelling hike up the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales.
Alongside his brother Matt and friend Daniel Taylor, he will first tackle Ben Nevis in Scotland on July 1.
Tony’s dad, Chris, will then ferry the team to Scafell Pike in the Lake District, before hitting Snowdon in Wales for a 5pm finish on July 2.
Tony said: “We aim to raise money and awareness for the children’s ward at Basingstoke hospital as a thanks for everything that they have done for me and my family.”
In March 2009, Tony’s wife Gemma gave birth to their twin boys Noah and Freddie seven weeks premature.
Following a month in the special care baby unit at Basingstoke hospital, the boys were able to return home happy and healthy.
But eight months later during a day out in Portsmouth, Noah was having trouble breathing. After being rushed to hospital, doctors discovered he had bronchiolitis caused by respiratory syncytial virus and adenovirus infections.
Two days later, Freddie was admitted with the same infections.
They left hospital four-months later.
But their admission to hospital was the first of many for the twins.
To date, they have been admitted 25 times with severe chest infections. Tony said nearly a quarter of their lives have been spent in a hospital bed.
On Monday, doctors confirmed that the twins suffer from bronchomalacia – a problem where cartilage surrounding the walls of the bronchioles in the lungs does not develop properly.
This means that both Noah’s and Freddie’s bronchioles shrink to 50 per cent of their usual diameter, making breathing difficult and increasing the chance of them becoming blocked.
Mum Gemma, 28, said the youngsters suffer from bouts of pneumonia every 10 days in the winter, requiring regular emergency trips to the hospital.
She said: “They had their birthdays in March and they were fine and full of beans, but three days later they were in the hospital for three weeks.
“In the winter, we can’t do any thing as they will get sick. We can’t even take them on normal activities such as a nursery. But In terms of dealing with it, we just try to get on with life.”
And for Tony, the Three Peaks Challenge is a small token of support for the ward that had kept the children alive.
He said: “The staff there have been great. They now know and love the boys. The support they have given us has been brilliant.
“Any day is hospital is a long time, but three months at a time is really tough, at least it’s made easier when you have great help”
To support Tony and his fundraising drive, visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/3peaksg2
