From London to Paris with love for Harry
A father from Formby has raised over £10,000 so far for his five year old son Harry.
Harry Halpin who is 5 years old, from Formby and a pupil of St Jeromes Primary School and he has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a severe muscle wasting condition.
Harry's dad, Gareth Halpin and three of his friends, Phil Hoyle, Mark Baldwin and James Franklin will join other riders to raise £1 million pounds in the Duchenne Dash. The dash is a road bike ride from London to Paris in just 24 hours. Gary's team will be called, 'The Harry Bikers'. Most rides of this distance are usually carried out over 3 days.
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is the most common fatal genetic disease diagnosed in childhood. The disease almost always affects boys. Duchenne is classified as a rare disease. Boys with it do not produce dystrophy which causes muscles to not repair and loose function.
The charity Duchenne UK embarked on a journey 5 years ago to end Duchenne in 10 years. This year's Dash is the halfway point to this mission and a landmark fundraising effort goes with it. This ride is going to hurt however the pain we suffer won't compare to the pain that duchenne has in store for Harry and other sufferers.
Harry's mum Rachel told the Bubble: "At present there is no treatment and Harry will loose the ability to walk by the age of 10 years old and then eventually loose upper body function by early twenties. There are no survivors."
Harry's mum and dad, Rachel and Gareth have been fundraising since they found out Harry had this awful condition three years ago. They have set up the Help Harry Fund and are hopeful they will find a treatment to Help Harry and other sufferers.
Dad Gareth said "Harry is a happy fun loving boy and we want to give him the best life posssible. The only thing we have is hope. Hope from the amazing research taking place. Hope from people taking part in mammoth tasks like the Duchenne Dash and hope from people who donate to the cause."
If anyone would like to sponsor Gareth and the Harry Bikers please go to this link:-
