History > Articles > Edy pal in trek for charity

On October 12th 2006 Leamington FC secretary Richard Edy suffered what all parents dread when his son Charlie passed away at the tender age of 3 months, a victim of Cot Death. Since then Richard has been fundraising for the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death (FSID) and to date with help from friends has raised approximately £14,000.

A close friend of Richard, Ashley Harmston, will, on the 25th of March, undertake the gruelling 300km Annapurna Circuit Trek in the Nepal to raise some money for the foundation as well as realise an ambition whilst Himalayas The Annapurna Circuit Trek is a 21 day 300KM/186 mile trek circling the Annapurna Mountains in the centre of. Varying in altitude between 445m/1460ft and 5416m/17,769 ft. the trek passes through a lot of ecological zones ranging from sub-tropical to alpine.

The challenges include:

Thorung La Pass - At 5416m/17,769 ft high the Thorung La is one of the highest passes in the world. At four times the height of Ben Nevis, 938m/3077ft. above the Matterhorn and 608m/1998ft above Mont Blanc short of being a mountaineer it’s the highest most people can go whilst having their feet on the ground.

Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) - Mild AMS: Headache, nausea, loss of appetite, difficulty in sleeping and light headedness are all symptoms of mild altitude sickness. Under no circumstances should you go higher. Serious AMS: Persistent, severe headache, persistent vomiting, ataxia (loss of coordination, inability to walk in a straight line, looking drunk), loss of consciousness, liquid sound in lungs, persistent watery cough, difficulty breathing, coughing blood, severe lethargy, blueness of face and lips, high resting heartbeat (over 130 BPM) are all symptoms of Serious AMS. Immediate descent is the only course of action. Failure to do so can result in death. Mountain sickness does not differentiate between people’s fitness and whether the person is foreign or Nepali. In short there is not much you can do to prepare. This is the biggest challenge on the trek and short of an injury the most likely reason to fail!

About FSID

The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths is the UK's leading baby charity aiming to prevent unexpected deaths in infancy and promote infant health. FSID fulfils these aims by:

Funding research - Supporting families whose babies have died suddenly and unexpectedly Disseminating information on infant health, baby care and sudden infant deaths to health professionals and the general public Working with professionals to improve investigations when a baby dies

If anyone would like to sponsor Ashley and help give babies the chance of a lifetime there are 2 ways of doing so:

1. Visit www.justgiving.com/annapurnatrek where you can make a donation with a credit or debit card. Justgiving also claim the gift aid which means an extra 28p for every pound you give will be claimed from the government and passed to the charity.

2. If you wish to send a cheque, please make it payable to FSID and you can send that to Richard Edy, 9 Little Acre, Hunt End, Redditch, Worcestershire, B97 5NR

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