Jack's three peak challenge as a thank you for mum

There’s just two weeks to go until fundraiser Jack Merriman laces up his walking boots to tackle the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge.

Jack will be aiming to complete the 24-mile, 1,600m climb in under 12 hours to raise funds for UHNM’s Critical Care Unit and Ward 228 Neurosurgery who saved his mum’s life following a ruptured brain aneurysm.

Jack, who lives in Manchester, will be joined by his colleagues from Cisco where he’s currently an apprentice.

He said: “It has been just over a year since one of the scariest days of my life. On 21 June 2022, mum was very suddenly and seriously taken ill with a ruptured brain aneurysm. She was not expected to survive the night and me and my family were told to prepare for the worst. She then contracted pneumonia and was in an induced coma during the first three weeks after her operation.”

“The care mum received at UHNM was second to none, the staff were attentive and answered any questions we as a family had with honesty and compassion. I really appreciate everything they did for my mum.”

“Due to the care mum received at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, mum came home and is well and truly on the way to making a full recovery, which is something else we were told not to expect.”

Speaking about the challenge Jack said: “We wanted to set ourselves a challenge that was tough whilst doing something big to raise awareness around the issue too, rather than just asking for donations from people. I have been doing max incline walks on the treadmill for 30 minutes at a time during my lunch break in the week. I know that some of the group taking on the challenge with me have been to the actual peaks themselves but just done one or two of them rather than all three. It is going to be tough, but that is why it is called a challenge and what mum went through was tough too- I am looking forward to it!”

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