Market Drayton mum's 30-mile walk to raise money for children's hospice

Leanne Domagalski went on a mission to get fit throughout lockdown, already running a virtual 10k for the Hope House hospice, but decided she wanted to push herself even further by walking from her family home in Market Drayton to the hospice near Oswestry.

“I challenged myself to do the 10k and was surprised to complete it, and now I want to do more to raise money for Hope House,” she said.

Leanne’s son Jake, 15, has a muscle wasting condition called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and has been using the hospice for the last three years.

“Jake can still walk a little bit, but is getting weaker now as he is getting older,” said Leanne. “His condition is life-limiting with many not expecting to live past their mid-twenties.

“Hope House has been incredible for us as a family, and Jake absolutely loves going there. Whether it’s painting, playing on the computers or going in the outside areas, he loves it.

“Jake felt at home at Hope House right away. We came for the first weekend as a family and straight away he said ‘I want to go on my own next time’.”

Amazing

Leanne will be joined by her partner Paul on the walk.

“We just want to help raise money for the hospice during this difficult time for them so they can carry on being there for families like us,” said Leanne.

Fundraiser Catrin Dowdeswell said: “Every week, three local families face their biggest fear and their child dies. Hope House Children’s Hospice cannot stop children dying but we can stop families suffering on their own.

“We need to raise in excess of £6m a year to support all the children and families we help from across Shropshire and that’s why it’s so amazing that we are supported by people like Leanne, who know first-hand how important the work we do is.”

Leanne and Paul will be doing the walk on Saturday, October 10, and have already raised nearly £500.

If you would like to donate, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/Leanne-Domagalski1.