A LOCAL father is planning to take one million steps during June to raise money for his daughter so he can pay for essential medical treatment not available in the UK.
Dave Hyde, of Gainford, has set himself the challenge of walking 33,333 steps, give or take, every day for 30 days with the hope of raising £1,000 to help fund stem cell treatment for his 34-year-old daughter, Linz (Lynsey), who has been diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). By the end of the month Mr Hyde will have walked over 500 miles.
The challenge is called MS 4 MS – a Million Steps for Multiple Sclerosis. Mr Hyde said: “I have always been competitive and I was looking for a challenge to celebrate my 65th birthday at the end of the month. Last November I was given a Fitbit and in February it ‘pinged’ and said I had done one million steps.”
The retired paediatric nurse practitioner started walking following a heart attack. He said: “At first I didn’t really like walking every day but gradually I started to enjoy it.”
Mr Hyde added: “RRMS is a progressive disease which for most people has little or no effective treatment. Stem cell treatment for multiple sclerosis has had some amazing results with up to 75 per cent of those taking part in the trials experiencing a halt to the progression of the disease. Elsewhere in the world the treatment is readily available but not in the UK. Trials have started in the UK with apparently equally impressive results but it may be several years before it is offered as a first line of treatment which could be too late for Linz.”
Ms Hyde is booked into a clinic in Mexico in December for the ground-breaking treatment, which will cost more than £60,000. Family and friends have already pledged more than £30,000.
There is still a chance she will be accepted as part of a medical trial in the UK. Mr Hyde said: “Linz has got an interview in London in July to see if she is suitable for the trial but access to the UK trial is very limited. If Linz is offered a place on the trial then all the money raised will be given to one of the multiple sclerosis charities.”
Last summer Ms Hyde was still able to mountain bike down the black-graded runs at Hamsterley Forest. By Christmas she could hardly walk and was in so much agony she required pain-killing infusions, was partially sighted and had to give up work. Ms Hyde is in remission and back at work at Glaxo, part time. She is also back on her bike to get as fit as possible in preparation for the stem cell treatment in Mexico.
More information on stem cell research can be found on Ms Hyde’s Facebook page: Hydes Hope for HSCT to halt MS. Anyone wishing to donate should visit Mr Hyde’s Facebook page, Dave Hyde.
