Milnthorpe man plans double endurance test to raise cash to help his disabled nephew (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Milnthorpe man plans double endurance test to raise cash to help his disabled nephew

12:31pm Tuesday 12th March 2013 in News By Daniel Orr, Reporter

A SOUTH Lakeland man is taking on two of Britain’s toughest challenges to help transform a disabled child’s life.

Sam Knight, of Milnthorpe, is to combine two of the UK’s most extreme tests into a single event to raise funds for life changing surgery for his two-year-old nephew, Wesley.

Wesley Knight suffered brain injuries at birth and now has cerebral palsy, affecting his motor control so he has problems sitting, cannot crawl and is unlikely to be able to walk.

However, there is hope for many children in Wesley’s situation via an operation in the USA called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy, which involves neurosurgery to reduce the muscle stiffness that prevents cerebral palsy sufferers from walking.

In order to raise funds, Sam will take on LeJog – an 874 mile bike ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats – and will climb the three peaks of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon en route.

This will take the total mileage to 1,048 and add more than 11,100 feet of mountain ascent, camping every night and carrying everything he needs for the two weeks’ journey from May 18 to June 2.

The 27 year-old outdoor instructor said: “There’s a real opportunity here to utterly transform Wes’s life – every donation gets us closer to getting the treatment he needs.”

Wesley is the youngest child of Tim and Catherine Knight, who have two other children, Amelie, four, and Isobel, 14.

Sam is raising funds for Wesley’s Wish, an appeal set up for the little boy.

To find out more and sponsor Sam, see www.justgiving.com/Sam-Knight-Epic