Why I Climbed a Mountain With My Son Strapped on My Back

Have you ever climbed a mountain carrying a small boy on your back? Neither had I, until June 3rd, 2017 when that’s exactly what I did. Why? Because I am a Mummy and I am desperate. My 4-year-old son has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a fatal genetic condition that will waste away every single muscle in his body until he can no longer survive. My son will die. And I am not prepared to let that happen without a fight, so I pushed myself out of my comfort zone to try and make a difference and change the future.

There are many things in life Fraser can’t do because he has weak muscles which don’t allow him the freedom to walk. He uses a wheelchair, but on that June weekend, I became his legs and carried him all the way to the top of Mount Snowdon (Wales, UK) in a special carrier on my back. He achieved and experienced something physical that would otherwise not be possible for him — he became a Mountaineer!

 

But I didn’t just carry my son to the top, in my heart I carried every single baby, child, teen and adult who has Duchenne, because I did this for all of us. One day research will find a universal treatment, we just don’t know when that day might come. The money I raised is to try and find that treatment we all so desperately need.

But every day I climb a bigger mountain than Snowdon — knowing that all of this may be in vain, that the future might not be changed in time for my little boy. But I will never give up fighting for Fraser and the widespread Duchenne community, because these lives mean something — one day another family might get to see their son grow up strong, and that is my wish, to know I played a part in that; that Fraser played a part in that.

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