'I'm climbing Scafell Pike 13 times. It's nothing compared to what my daughter goes through': Sunderland dad
‘Whenever I think that the going is getting hard, I will think of Tiana’
A Sunderland dad plans to climb and descend England’s highest mountain 13 times in a row to raise money in tribute to his ‘amazing’ daughter who has been diagnosed with a rare condition.
Josh Lay, 36, has given himself a steep challenge and it starts on Thursday, September 24.
He will climb Scafell Pike 13 times to raise money for the Freya Foundation because his daughter Tiana Johnson is about to reach her 13th birthday and she has done it against the odds.
Tiana has a rare condition called PDHA1 (PDH Deficiency). PDHA1 is a gene that acts as a blueprint for a critical protein in your body and if it does not work, it can lead to energy shortage and acid build-up.
Many infants with severe deficiency do not survive beyond infancy or early childhood and Tiana’s family only found out this year that she has the condition.
Josh admitted: “It has rocked our world in the most heart breaking way.”
Tiana is non-verbal but she is ‘always has a smile. She loves to smile. She is happy all the time and really bubbly.”
‘It is great for any child to become a teenager but for Tiana, considering the amount of adversity she has to go through, it is a major milestone.”
His Scafell challenge will cover around 78 miles with roughly 40,000ft elevation gain. To put that into perspective, it’s almost the equivalent of climbing and descending Mountain Everest from sea level 1.4 times.
Josh, who is also dad to Olivia Lay, 9, and Molly Lay, 4, has already taken on some incredible tasks during his training programme for the challenge.
He climbed Scafell Pike carrying an additional 47.5kg on his back, which represented Tiana’s weight plus his kit, and he has also completed a 50km run from Tyne Green Park to Sunderland with friends.
But the biggest challenge begins on September 24 when he starts the daunting prospect of going up and down Scafell Pike 13 times continuously.
Josh, who lives in Fulwell and works as a maintenance technician, said: “Whenever I think that the going is getting hard, I will think of Tiana and other children and think that they go through more.
“I will feed off how much energy she gives off.”
Josh has so far raised £3,470 towards his £5,000 target and anyone wanting to support his amazing efforts should visit https://www.kindlink.com/fundraising/The-Freya-Foundation/9687