‘K-man’ the superhero!
Fundraiser Kieran, 10, is back – this time in aid of Donna Louise
A 10-YEAR-OLD who has dubbed himself ‘K-man’ the superhero is now back with a new charity challenge after raising more than £2,500.
Kieran Kumar-hankin was diagnosed with Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA) and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in 2017.
He receives lots of support for the degenerative neuromuscular conditions from paediatricians and, more recently, the Donna Louise Children’s Hospice.
The youngster, from Upper Tean, is encouraged to exercise regularly to help him retain as much mobility as possible.
Last year, he decided to take on a charity challenge which saw him cycle 70km on his recumbent trike to raise £2,700 for Ataxia UK.
Now he’s back to raise even more money, this time for the Donna Louise, which has been supporting Kieran and his mum virtually.
Leeann Hankin, Kieran’s mum, said: “We were meant to go to the Donna Louise in person last year, and we were really looking forward to it, but then Covid came along and scuppered everybody’s plans.
“But as things started to settle down, we were set up with Maria from the hospice, who we built up a relationship with.
“After a while, she managed to get herself an Xbox and started to have games of Fornite with Kieran. It was great for him because he realised that someone really wanted to get to know him, have fun and do these things that he was interested in.
“We also built a relationship with play therapist Nikki, who taught Kieran Makaton.
It’s been great to make these connections with people from home, so that when things do reopen and Kieran can go in and access the full range of services, it won’t be something brand new for him.
“The Donna Louise has struggled so much with Covid because obviously all fundraising has stopped. It really is such an amazing place.
“We just want to help keep them afloat so they can keep providing these services to children that need it.”
Kieran’s latest fundraiser is the Virtual Conqueror Challenge, which offers several different routes for participants to take on, virtually, to raise money for a good cause. Kieran chose The Inca Trail, which runs through Machu Picchu in Peru, where his favourite Paddington Bear originates.
The youngster started his challenge on March 15 and has given himself four weeks to complete it.
He’ll be heading out regularly on his recumbent trike in between online learning and clinic appointments, to cover a total of 42km – the distance of a marathon.
Leeann added: “I kept seeing the Virtual Conqueror advertised, and thought it looked really interesting. I showed Kieran and asked if he’d like to do another challenge.
“We had a look at the routes and I suggest the English Channel, but he said that was too short!”
Not only has the challenge so far raised over £600, it’s also encouraged Kieran and Leeann to get outside during lockdown.
“if Kieran has a challenge, it really motivates him to do things and push himself,” said Leeann.
“January and February were really awful because it was dark, cold and wet. When we get out and move in the fresh air we both feel so much better for it. We’ve had days when he can get quite grumpy and frustrated, because his condition does get him down.
“Sometimes I’ll say, ‘let’s go out on the bike’ and he’ll grumble a bit, but 10 minutes later he’s laughing his head off and he’ll say to me, ‘you’re right mum, getting out is the best thing’.”
Kieran said: “I can’t believe how much I have raised so far. I’d now like to raise around £800, or maybe £900 and then I would have tripled my target.”
Kieran and Leeann have also recently had an update about Kieran’s Make A Wish application, which saw him hoping to have his design for a transformer toy made into a real-life figure.
Leeann said: “Kieran wished for his own toy, but he also wished for them to make more toys that he could sell to raise money for charity.
“Sadly, they can’t do that because of the costs, but apparently there is a possibility that the artwork the designers are using might be framed so we can put it into a charity auction and hopefully raise some money that way.
“Words don’t describe how I feel about Kieran, he is one amazing young man. He pushes me to keep going. He’s got so much going on, but he has such a determination in him to do these things.
“We both like to give back to people who have helped us. Without Ataxia UK and without the Donna Louise, we’d be in such a different position to what we are now.”