Now Imogen Hall, 20 who in her teens regularly looked after both Alfie and his ten-year-old brother Oli, is to fly out to Tanzania on 18 March to climb Kilimanjaro with her dad Simon and mum Kirsty, fundraising for Muscular Dystrophy UK.
Alfie’s mum Rachael, 43, said:
"We know the Hall family through playing hockey together at Leeds Hockey Club. They have been wonderful friends and as they prepare to do this great trek we thank them for their huge support and wish them all the best with their adventure."
The trekking begins on 20 March. Imogen, her mum Dr Kirsty Manock and her dad Dr Simon Hall will take eight days to reach the summit Uhuru Peak, which is 19,341ft.
Imogen said they chose to support MDUK because of Alfie.
"I have had personal experience of this disease and have been able to see the impact the condition has upon the child, as well as the whole family.
"As a family we understand that there is no cure for the condition, however there are treatments which help manage the condition. We would love it if eventually a cure could be found and we love helping to support Alfie and his family.
"My mum was a doctor before she retired and my dad is currently a GP in Seacroft. I am a Student Nurse in my third year studying at John Moore’s University Liverpool. I will start in A&E at St James in Leeds in September."
Initially it looked like I would be doing the climb on my own. Then mum decided to join me. Then my dad decided that he wanted to join as well. As a family we have decided to do it, as it is a once in a life time opportunity.
Imogen said she is always up for a challenge, and always open to doing new things. Imogen’s biggest is that all three of them will get altitude sickness, and can’t complete the climb.
When Alfie was little, Rachael and Sam noticed he was slow to crawl and didn’t walk until he was 18 months old. When he was three and couldn’t jump or climb stairs like his friends could, they were referred to a paediatrician. After a wait of four months, Alfie was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and their ‘world came crashing down’.
Mum Rachael said: “We were extremely grateful to Muscular Dystrophy UK at that time. We referred family and friends to the resources on the MDUK website instead of having to explain Alfie’s diagnosis again and again, at a time when it was heart-breaking to talk about it. We have also used the helpline over the years and had some very valuable advice, including on funding in education.”
They also began fundraising for the charity and since then have raised over £22000 to fund research into potential treatments. Alfie is bright, engaging and loves sport, reading, art and music. He is determined to get the most out of life and generally approaches everything he does with a smile on his face. Rachael told us about how proud she is of him, saying: “When we have a ’wobble’ we look at his strength of character and that inspires us.”
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