More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Two dads who have been friends since school and whose children were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes within a week of each other, plan on running, walking or crawling for 24-hours straight in their respective gardens, to raise cash for the NHS.
Lee Wenham, from Maidstone, and Scott Mitchell, from Tonbridge, have embarked on a series of challenges for a diabetes charity in the past five years, raising more than £30,000.
The challenges include paddling the length of the Thames in a dingy and running 10K every day for a year.
But tomorrow, at 10am, the pair will be pacing their lawns for NHS Charities Together for 24-hours, to say thank you to staff who have looked after their children, and for their work battling the coronavirus.
After glandular fever, losing a stone in a month and being rushed to hospital six years ago, to be told his body was attacking itself, Lee's son Cellan, now 12, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Around the same time, Scott's daughter Freya, now seven, was also diagnosed with the condition.
Lee, 36 and a British Gas engineer, said: "We go to the hospital every three months for check ups. The nurses in Kent are amazing."
Lee says having a child with the condition can be very challenging.
"It's the lack of sleep. We are checking their sugar levels every two hours, even during the night. They can't just go outside, we always have to make sure they have their equipment and sugary juices.
"It's just non-stop. Every time they eat we have to make sure there is enough insulin in the meals."
As for the back-garden challenge, the pair, who met at Hugh Christie Technology College, plan on live streaming the endeavour on Facebook and Lee is also going to set up a 'base camp' in his garden. However, he is nervous about the challenge.
"Everybody has been stuck indoors, drinking and eating more than usual. We are going to have to change clothes at points or have something to eat. We have just got to get through it. By the end of it I think I will be crawling."
To help Lee and Scott reach their £500 goal, click here.
To watch the live streams, search for The Determined Daddies on Facebook.
For more quirky and unusual stories, click here
