'Fat men' walk 40 miles for Newbury girl suffering from Leukemia

TWO self proclaimed ‘fat men’ have embarked on a 40 mile trek to raise funds for a two-year-old Newbury girl who has been diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia.
Portly pair Matt Whitticase, 45, and Gav Thompson, 43, who weigh a combined 40 stone, hauled themselves from their sofas and started training after learning that Lara, the daughter of their
Newbury-based friends Nick and Emma Macpherson, had been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia - a potentially fatal condition.
Sufferers have bone marrows that are unable to produce healthy red blood cells. Instead, they are only able to generate aggressive and mutated leaukaemia white blood cells.
This means that the youngster will be spending the next four to six months undergoing an intensive course of chemotherapy.
The diagnosis comes just six years after the pair faced the tragedy of losing their first daughter Georgia to Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a deadly disease that is the largest genetic killer of babies and toddlers in the UK.
Last weekend the men threw their weight into a major fundraising effort - which they have dubbed ‘fat men walking’ - which saw them set off from Abingdon Bridge at 8.30am on Saturday for a two day charity walk.
Their trip took them 20 miles along the Thames to Streatley on Saturday and the following day they walked along the Kennet and Avon Canal for a further 20 mile trek from Reading to Newbury.The men only set up their online fundraising page five weeks ago, but have already managed to raise the fat sum of £8,060, with donations still coming in.
Speaking after the walk, ‘fat man’ Mr Whitticase said: “We may be poking fun at ourselves with the name Fat Men Walking, but we’re deadly serious about wanting to raise as much money as we can for the Piam Brown Ward (Southampton Hospital) and Children with Cancer UK.
“No family should have to go through the sort of ordeal that Lara and her parents Nick and Emma are having to cope with. That’s why we’re backing these charities that are doing so much to support Lara’s family. Even if it meant swapping our drinking boots for walking boots.”
Donations can be made to Fat Men Walking via their online fundraising page: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/fatmenwalkagain
The two men will be providing live updates and images from the walk on their blog, Which can be found at http://fatmenwalkagain.wordpress.com/