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500 Miles
500 MILES AND A LETTER FROM AMERICA
- Dad's US trek raises £5k for Sick Kids Friends Foundation
to mark anniversary of son's lifesaving treatment -
A dedicated dad from Glenisla, by Blairgowrie, has completed an epic 556-mile trip across the Californian mountain peaks to raise more than £5,000 for the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, 10 years after his son underwent a life saving brain operation at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children.
Iain Ross (46) who lives at Brewlands Bridge, Glenisla gathered six big-hearted friends together to take on the challenge with him, completing part of the famous John Muir trail through Yosemite National Park and surrounding areas.
Together, the team clocked up an impressive 86,000ft of vertical ascent over two weeks - the equivalent of an Everest each.
Chartered accountant Iain, who works at Craig Group Ltd in Aberdeen, wanted to fundraise for the Sick Kids Friends Foundation to mark 10 years since his son Callum underwent a major operation at the hospital, just after his first birthday, which saved his life.
Iain said: "I've been desperate to take a group of friends to experience the Yosemite I've know for years so this was the culmination of a life-long ambition which I wasn't sure I'd achieve when I took seriously ill six years ago, was hospitalised, and lost the sight in my right eye. So I decided at the beginning of this year with it being Callum's anniversary that we better do it now or never and the rest is now history.
"None of us are really walkers, campers, climbers or survival experts. You are talking about mainly mid to late 40 something accountants, managers and office staff here.
"It felt fitting to make the amazing trip this year, to mark 10 years after Callum's operation. He owes his life to the staff at the hospital and we've received a tremendous amount of support throughout our challenge of a lifetime - which was very inspiring during our walks. The total is still rising and I hope to keep it going right through to Christmas as I have some amazing auction prizes still available on our justgiving page."
The challenge, dubbed 'We're Gonna Walk 500 Miles' due to Iain's passion for the Proclaimers, has sparked interest from some exciting places - with Stephen Greenhorn, who wrote the Proclaimers musical 'Sunshine on Leith', donating a signed score from the show to be auctioned.
Maureen Harrison, Chief Executive of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, said: "We are extremely grateful to Iain and the team for this fantastic donation. The challenge they took on was substantial but they certainly rose to it and practically moved mountains to support us.
"These funds will make a big difference to the lives of sick kids and their families from all over Scotland. Without people like Iain, we would not be able to continue the work we do at the Sick Kids Friends Foundation. A huge thank you to the whole team."
Iain still has some superb auction items available on his justgiving page which will also go towards his fundraising total. For details and to snap them up, visit http://www.justgiving.com/Were-Gonna-Walk-500-Miles-support-Iain.
