MORE THAN £20,000 has been raised in the name of a Rosudgeon youngster who suffers from a rare genetic disorder.
Sienna Thomas's uncle David Haigh – the director of Leeds United FC – and Sienna's godmother Julie Treneer have completed a six-day trek through the Arctic.
The nine-year-old was diagnosed with the rare disorder Homocystinuria (HCU) two years ago – a condition that affects her vision, impacts on her vascular and skeletal systems and puts her at a high risk of suffering strokes and osteoporosis.
In November 2012, the Make A Wish Foundation granted Sienna a wish to visit Disneyland Paris.
Last summer she raised £1,300 for the charity by selling her own lemonade, inspiring Mr Haigh and Mrs Treneer to raise funds.
Together they trekked 250km from Norway into Sweden on a sled in order to finish at the world-famous Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi, sleeping in tents along the way.
Mrs Treneer, who runs Janner's fish and chips in Mousehole, said the trek, which they completed last month, was absolutely amazing and the best thing she had achieved.
She said: "The experience from learning to handle the dogs, putting up tents on the ice, learning to control the sled – was all fantastic.
"The dogs are a crazy bunch – so strong, cheeky and amusing – but they have no brakes so if you fall off (which I did several times) they don't stop until someone catches them – then I had to climb out of waist-deep snow and clamber through the drifts to get back on the sled.
The first day was extremely hard as I had to help push the sled up a huge mountain. The dogs were pulling as well but in places it was very steep and deep snow."
She has raised more than £4,300 for the charity; she would like to thank her sponsors and Robbie at RS Fitness.
Mrs Treneer is a distributor for Utility Warehouse and her company doubled £4,150 of her total raised. Mr Haigh also said the experience was "amazing" and that his total was up to £15,000. He said: "The trek was an incredible experience. For seven days we took control of six huskies each and navigated our way through 250km of the frozen lands of Norway, Finland and Sweden. "We camped outdoors and assisted in cooking local speciality dishes at meal times. We took complete care of our dogs from start to finish and it was certainly the physical challenge I was hoping it would be ... I had incredible support from friends, family and Leeds United fans who helped me both financially through donations and messages of encouragement. I met a group of Norwegian LUFC fans in Tromso at the end of the trek, we spent a long time talking to each other and it highlighted the global nature of Leeds United and its rich supporter base outside of Yorkshire."
See www.justgiving.com/davidhaigh1 or www.justgiving.com/Julie-Treneer
To find out more about Make a Wish, go to www.wish.org
