A 26-year-old Preston woman, who just five years ago was a full-time wheelchair user, is currently trekking through rainforests and mountain foothills on her way to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, considered the eighth wonder of the world, to raise funds for the Royal Preston Hospital, which helped her get back on her feet.
Harley Walsh was just 16-years-old when Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, an inherited genetic condition, and Spastic Paraplegia, a rare neurological disorder, which is also inherited and causes progressive muscle weakness and stiffness in the legs to point of making walking difficult, became a wheelchair user.
Harley found herself having to drop out of education. She was unable to work or do many of the things she had previously loved but in 2020, Harley underwent neurosurgery at the Royal Preston Hospital to have a baclofen pump fitted. The device is implanted under the skin of the tummy to enable the delivery of the muscle relaxant medicine baclofen directly into the spinal fluid.
Harley said: “Having the pump fitted has completely changed my life by giving me much of my mobility back and the ongoing care I receive through Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is making my symptoms manageable.
“Since having the implant, I have travelled to 45 countries, climbed more than 200 mountains, including 196 Wainwrights, and until recently, I worked for the trust that made it all possible as a multi-disciplinary team co-ordinator for spinal surgery in Orthopaedics.”
Harley, who is now taking a sabbatical from her job to spend a year travelling through Asia and Latin America, journeyed from Vietnam to join up with a 22-strong party of other adventurous trekkers from Lancashire and South Cumbria on the 100km charity expedition to the huge temple complex of Angkor Wat.
The main group flew out from Gatwick Airport on Saturday (8th November), spending 16 hours in the air to reach the Cambodian city and start point of Siem Reap from where they began their trail yesterday (Monday, 10th November). Like Harley, some of the trekkers are being sponsored in support of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity (LTHC) while others are fundraising for its sister charities of Rosemere Cancer Foundation and Baby Beat.
It will take the group five days of walking between 20 to25 km a day in around 30 degreeheat to reach Angkor Wat.
Joanna Allitt, who is LTHC’s fundraising manager, said: “Harley’s story is just remarkable and so inspirational. Talk about seizing an opportunity, Harley has grasped it with both hands and is a lesson to us all on living our best, fullest lives. We hope Harley has a wonderful experience trekking to Angkor Watt. We are extremely grateful to her for her support. We also hope the rest of her travels in Asia and Latin America go brilliantly.”
To support Harley and her team mates by sponsoring them, visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/lth-cambodia