A PORTLAND army veteran is embarking on a 70-mile walk from south Dorset to Southampton General Hospital to raise money for two charities that helped his daughter - with the catch being he will be doing it backwards.
Wayne Ingram, who was previously medically discharged from the army due to a leg injury and struggles with walking, will be raising funds for both the British Scoliosis Research Foundation (BSRF) and the Masonic Charitable Foundation after his daughter was diagnosed with Idiopathic Scoliosis; a rare deformity which causes a severe curvature of the spine.
In June 2019 Mr Ingram’s daughter Freya was diagnosed with the condition despite only four weeks earlier being deformity free - demonstrating the aggressive nature of the condition.
Mr Ingram, who now works as a paramedic, said: “We, like most parents and the children it affects, didn’t know what was happening until it was too late.
“At the time of identifying it, her deformity was measured at a staggering 74 degrees and was measured at 96 degrees by the time of her operation.
“As a paramedic who has a sound knowledge of first aid, I couldn’t understand why I of all people wouldn’t have seen it.”
The dad was later informed by doctors that there was nothing he could have done to notice it because Freya was pain-free, and washed and dressed herself.
Six months after her diagnosis the teenager had two titanium rods inserted during an operation spanning several hours and after a short spell in intensive care came home to recover.
Mr Ingram continued: "Sadly, scoliosis affects 4/1000 children in the UK. It is my intention to conduct an unusual fundraising event to highlight this terrible condition.
“I would like to stop other children and parents going through what our family experienced, and the only way to achieve this is through support, awareness and research.”
The army veteran departs Portland on Monday, April 11, and will be guided by another veteran as he walks backwards to Southampton General Hospital - where his daughter received treatment.
Previously Mr Ingram has raised £140,000 to help a Bosnian boy with a rare facial cleft, as well as money to build a new orphanage in Mauritania and support for Great Ormond Street Hospital by spending seven days on a life raft in Portland Harbour.
Mr Ingram says he intends to raise as much as possible for the two charities and wished to pay thanks to his sponsors.
To donate visit https://justgiving.com/fundraising/lets-reverse-this-together
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