Devoted Irish dad covers 100 miles by foot for sick daughter

A father from Co. Galway will this morning complete a walk, which covered over 100 miles, for his four-year-old daughter who suffers from a rare metabolic disorder in order to raise funds for a Dublin hospital.

Inspirational Ken Campbell began his cross country trek yesterday at 9am and walked through the night by torchlight to raise awareness of his daughter Emma's condition and encouraged people to participate and donate to Temple Street Children's Hospital.

Opening up about the walk which began began in the west of the country and has been dubbed 'Miles for Emma', Ken said: "I intend walking all through tonight and into tomorrow morning by torchlight so that I can reach Temple Street on Sunday morning. The route is about 100 miles. People can join in and leave as they see fit anywhere along the route."

Ken's daughter Emma suffers from a rare condition known as succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency which delays intellectual development and affects both speech patterns and motor skills.

With only 450 cases of it reported worldwide, Emma's devoted dad hopes his cross-country efforts will raise awareness of the condition and sees the walk as a symbol of the plight suffered by many families, saying: "This journey is symbolic of the struggle all parents with children with special needs face."

Turning his attention to other children with special needs, Ken said: "There are a whole lot more children out there with similar conditions and they all need as much help as possible to have at least a fighting chance in this world."

A massive well done to Ken and all who took part in 'Miles for Emma'.