Army major completes 1,000-mile barefoot walk in aid of daughter

The Army major has completed his 1,000-mile barefoot walk across the east coast of America

An Army major has completed a barefoot march along the east coast of the USA to fund the creation of treatment for his daughter's rare genetic disease.

Maj Chris Brannigan's nine-year-old daughter Hasti was diagnosed with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS) in 2019.

He said the challenge "was definitely harder than I'd anticipated".

The 1,000-mile (1,600 km) barefoot walk took 45 days to complete and has raised more than £100,000.

The officer, based in Tidworth, Wiltshire, set off on his journey at the end of August from the Jackson Lab in Maine, heading south to the finish line in North Carolina in aid of Hope for Hasti CdLS.

Major Brannigan said that "a right to health should not be determined by profitability"

He and his wife Hengameh set up the charity after finding out there was no treatment for the rare disease.

Children with CdLS often suffer from seizures and severe anxiety.

Mr Brannigan took part in a similar challenge last summer where he walked 700 miles from Land's End to Edinburgh, but said this one was 'incredibly difficult'.

"One of the things I hadn't foreseen was how much time I would spent walking on my own," he said.

"A lot of the time when I was walking out back in the woods.

"When I was walking in the UK, I had lots of people with me all the time which made a real difference."

He said he did the challenge because there was "no investment in treatments for rare disease"

The major said there were times when he thought he may not finish the challenge, after Hasti was hospitalised back home in the UK.

He said: "It was really frightening. Hasti suddenly felt unwell unexpectedly. She had to go into hospital. She was there for a period of time.

"When I was walking, I had very little communication with my wife due to poor signal reception. I was just incredibly worried.

"I didn't know what was going on and I thought the worst might be happening.

"At some point I thought I was going to come home and cut the challenge short but thankfully Hasti made a recovery and is now back home."

Hasti was hospitalised while Major Brannigan was on the walking challenge

Maj Brannigan said he did not encounter any bears but "lots and lots of people" came to visit him along his journey.

"All in all, we've raised about $125,000 (£108,662) for Hope for Hasti.

"My biggest takeaway from both walks is that when you're really in trouble, as long as you tell people, people are kind and they will go out of their way to help you."

Major Brannigan said he'd "probably met thousands of people over the last 45 days and they've all been incredibly generous"

When asked if he would take part in a similar challenge again, Major Brannigan said "certainly not yet".

"It's really really difficult. I haven't seen my family in two months. It takes a huge amount of planning and effort before you even reach the start line.

"It puts a lot of pressure on me and my wife, on the whole family."