8600 miles round trip for Ponseti treatment

STEPS Forum member Yolande Chavesse and her son Toby who journeyed from Kenya for treatment at the Manchester Children's Hospital were featured in the Manchester Evening News on Friday 5th August. Sue Banton and Clare Beavan from STEPS met Yolande and Toby at Manchester airport and spent the day with them at the hospital and the STEPS office. Toby's feet are now doing very well after the initial treatment in Kenya went wrong. Forum readers will know that Toby's feet were saved by Kenyan orthopaedic surgeon Dr Theuri, but the early treatment had left his feet resistant and atypical. Dr Ponseti had recommended Toby be seen by Naomi Davis at Manchester Children's Hospital.

We're on the Move!

As from Monday 4th July the steps team will be moving to bigger, brighter offices. This will unfortunately affect the services that we will be able to provide during this week. We will be unable to answer any helpline or email enquiries but keep sending in your contact forms and leave any messages on the answering machine and we shall be dealing with them as soon as we can. Normal services will resume on Monday 11th July.

All helpline and admin numbers remain the same.

It doesn't stop here - our name is changing too!

steps Charity Worldwide is our new name but we'll still just be known as steps, nothing too drastic but we think it outlines our vision for the next 25 years and beyond.

Saturday 15 Jan - Sun 30 Jan 2005

The following are excerpts from the diary of Michael O'Byrne a steps Trustee and CEO of opcare. This was compiled during their recent expedition to attempt to get to Everest base camp. The beneficiaries of the sponsorship were Steps and Reach.

Day 1 - Saturday 15 January Met up with the rest of the group at Heathrow. Everybody was excited, although a little apprehensive. There were 16 in the group, fourteen of whom were 'connected' to the prosthetic and orthotic service and were pledging their sponsorship to steps & Reach.

Staff from RSL Steeper, opcare and the NHS made up the majority of the group, with friends/supporters completing our sponsorship team. Amongst the team was a prosthetic user from Exeter. My professional curiosity wondered how well he would cope with the difficult terrain.

Day 2 - Sunday 16 January Arrived in Abu Dhabi and spent 6 hours at the airport before flying to Kathmandu. The group were supposed to have half a day before going to Lukla and we used it to visit the sacred river Ganges. We witnessed several simultaneous cremations. The bodies are taken to this sacred location within a couple of hours after death. Watching the funeral pyres was a daunting experience and not one that I would care to repeat. At the end of the ceremony the ashes were thrown into the river Ganges.

As well as the sites for the pyres (every twenty yards) there were two special stone slabs adjacent to the river Ganges. These were the gateways to heaven. These were reserved for those who had expressed a desire to spend their last few moments of their lives on these sacred slabs. The process was explained by our knowledgeable guide. When you were coming close to the end of your life you would be moved from your home or hospital to the hospice beside the sacred location. The local doctors became expert at predicting the time of death and when they believed that there were minutes left, the dying person would be moved to the 'gateway to heaven'. The dying person was placed on the slab with their feet in the Ganges and looking towards the temple.

The visit to the Ganges evoked contrasting emotions. Although it was interesting to see, you felt an intruder as families cremated their loved ones.

We also visited a Buddhist Boudha temple. There were hundreds of people walking around in a clockwise direction moving the prayer wheels that surrounded the temple as they walked.

Our first briefing by our trekking guide was a little ominous. He said that this was a bad time of year with respect to weather and that it would be very cold. So much for the shorts and t-shirts that we had been advised to take for our first day's trekking.

The fact that we had a Doctor provided should have given us comfort, but in some ways it was a little worrying. Great emphasis was placed on the 'fact' that we would most likely have stomach problems. We were instructed not to eat salads or have ice cubes in drinks.

He also hinted that the flight to Lukla was a little scary and laughed. The time of the flight who knows! We were to get up at 5am and go to the airport and see when the flight would take off.

Day 3 - Monday 17 January We were all excited as we went to the airport - we were going to start our climb, (or so we thought).

The plane took off and after forty minutes we were all looking out the window for our first glimpses of Lukla. It looked like a very large airport! Then we realised we were back in Kathmandu. The weather conditions en route were too difficult and the pilot had decided to turn back.

This posed a difficulty as two of the group had managed to get through (on another plane) and the luggage was mixed up between the planes.

We returned to our hotel to find out that there was a 'general strike'. This was of a political nature and we were told not to wander to far from the hotel that evening.

Day 4 - Tuesday 18 January Another failed attempt to go to Lukla. Up early in the morning getting to the airport by 6.40 only to wait another frustrating 6 hours before being told we had to try again the next morning due to bad weather. We had a long discussion at lunchtime in the hotel about the options now that all slack has been lost from the timetable.

We had a long discussion at the Hotel to try to establish what our options were. Two of us had to be back in the UK on schedule due to work commitments, the others believed that they could extend for a couple of days if that meant they would achieve the goal of reaching base camp. There was pressure to re-arrange the flights for those who intended to extend. After much debate it was decided that we would try to cut an acclimatisation day out (which had risks) and a 'faster' group would attempt to extend the trekking days on the way back.

Day 5 - Wednesday 19 January To everybody's delight our attempt to reach Lukla succeeded at last. The plane journey was the strangest that I have experienced. The views were awesome. You could not imagine that a plane could fly so close to the mountains. (I later heard that one had crashed into the mountain a few weeks beforehand). Landing on a runway that is at a steep angle was a first.

At Lukla we had a surprising lunch ' chip butties'.

The walk from Lukla to Phading took about three hours. We passed through several villages the largest of which was called Ghat.

I was concerned about my fitness when I was breathless on the first steep slope that we came to. I was reassured when one of my fellow trekkers admitted the same feeling.

There was a light snow most of the way from Lukla to Phading. We crossed one of many 'ropey' bridges. My method was to look forward not down.

At Phading we used a teahouse for our meal prepared by our Sherpas. Although we were staying in tents we met a 'resident' Canadian Bob. This was his third expedition but his mission was to get to Tengboche (remember the name).

We asked him a lot of questions. The main one was his opinion on Diamox. This is a drug which can help with altitude sickness. Our Doctor wanted everyone to take it but several of the group were not happy to do this. I had already taken it by this stage. Canadian Bob was not in favour. He did make a recommendation which I followed. This was the purchase of a Himalyan hat. It may look ridiculous but it was the warmest hat I had ever tried. The first night in the tents was an experience. Nobody slept. The proximity of the tents meant that the communal snoring ensured everybody had a disturbed night's sleep.

Day 6 - Thursday 20 January We set off for Namche Bazaar. The morning's walk was fine but the afternoon trek was very strenuous.

After reaching Namche we found our tents pitched near a very simple teahouse. It had the luxury of a satellite phone. The communal snoring was supported by the sound of the local dogs.

Day 7 - Friday 21st January We had an acclimatisation day in Namche which was designated as a rest day. Our rest comprised climbing 400 metres which took all morning. In the afternoon we traded with the locals for one or two things that we needed.

We ate at the teahouse and retired to our tents. There was little evidence of the night concert and the tent even appeared a little warmer when we woke. When I tried to get out of the tent the reason for the insulation was in front of my eyes - snow and lots of it.

Day 8 - Saturday 22nd January After breakfast we set off for Tengboche. Within a quarter of an hour of setting of we had to stop. I removed my warm gear and applied sun lotion. We were warned that we must wear our sunglasses as the sun bouncing off the snow would be dangerous for our eyes.

The idea was that we were to make up time. Snow was not going to help.

The trek was beautiful, dangerous at times and very tiring.

We arrived at Tengboche and stayed in a hut beside the monastery. That night was the coldest I have ever experienced. The tents had been sent back as it was not practical to pitch the tents in the snow. Our guide said that our chances of reaching base camp were now as low as 10%. The last recorded temperature in the room before we went to sleep was -17 deg.

Day 9 - Sunday 23rd January The next morning it was obvious that there had been a blizzard. The guide said that we were not going any further. We were using Yaks to carry the equipment and the Yak handler was refusing to allow his Yaks to proceed. The guide said that in the interest of the safety of the staff and the clients that we had to try to return when we got an opportunity. At one point we were concerned that one of the group was in danger of having frostbite on his fingers.

Day 10 - Monday 24th January The next morning we headed for Namche. It was a long trek and very dangerous with snow and ice underfoot.

That evening we had another of our group debates. After much discussion we decided to split the group. There were to be two groups those who would attempt Lukla in one day and those who would take two to do it.

Then the staff decided to rebel. They wanted the group to stay together and as the majority wanted to attempt it in one day we would go for the one day option. The proviso was that we had to reach Lukla before 6pm as there was a curfew in place.

There were armed soldiers as you approached the town and it would be too risky to make this approach after 6pm.

Day 11 - Tuesday 25th January We got up very early and started our attack on Lukla. The forward group reached Phading, ate lunch and moved on before the second group arrived. It was going to be difficult to get everybody there before the curfew.

This was definitely the hardest day and when we reached Lukla we were exhausted. We had in fact split into at least three groups. The first group arrived in good time and the last group just in time to get to the teahouse before the curfew.

We were anxious to know the possibilities of getting back to Kathmandu. There had been no flights for five days due to weather conditions.

That evening we had a 'party' where we entertained our sherpas and they in turn sang for us. One or two beers were consumed.

Day 12 - Wednesday 26th January Early in the morning we dashed for the airport and fortunately the planes were flying.

On arrival in Kathmandu it was obvious that several members of the group were extremely anxious to get home and some people had brought their flights forward.

The remaining nine people flew home on schedule on Sunday.

On Tuesday (the possible re-arranged date to fly home) the Nepalese King Gyanendra has sacked the country's government and declared a state of emergency. Phone lines have been cut, armed troops were on the streets flights to the capital are cancelled and the press is being censored. lost .

I think we did well to get back in time.

Extreme challenge! You better believe it !!!!!!!

A substantial sum of money was made for the two charities steps and Reach and I really enjoyed being with the team. They were a great bunch. It was a pleasure to be challenged (and stranded) with such interesting and committed people.

The one remaining question was how did our user do? Were my professional concerns justified? It is hard for me to comment because he was with the 20-year olds who led the pack the whole way. I hardly saw him throughout the day other than when he was overtaking, having stopped to use his video recorder. Colin is super fit and an inspiration to all of us, both in this physical prowess and his attitude.

Anybody who wishes to contribute to the fund please ??????????

Everest Archive

Michael O'Byrne and Opcare team Everest Expedition Diary - to read the latest click on the link:

Well, its finally arrived. Our intrepid explorers are leaving blighty to take on their extreme challenge to trek to Everest base camp. Michael O'Byrne is a Steps Trustee and,communication/weather conditions allowing, will be sending in regular updates during the trek, keep this page bookmarked for updates. We wish all of the explorers in the 2005 Everest Base Camp Trek in aid of Steps and Reach a safe yet exhilarating journey. <

Anyone who has been watching the BBC1 series Himalaya with Michael Palin will be aware, not only of the fascinating scenery, but the treacherous terrain and the risk of altitude sickness!

steps and Reach would like to thank the following participants and wishes them bon voyage.

Julian Clarke - Works Chemist Sandwich, Kent. Brian Vaughan - Network Mgr, Trowbridge. Janet Okunowo - Orthotist Darwen, Lancs. Colin Edwards - Farmer, Exeter. Penny Broomhead - Physiotherapist,Leicester. Frank Colquhoun - Prosthetic technician, Glasgow. David House - Prosthetist, Exeter. Edward Knighton - Finance Director, Oxford. Andrew Tye - Technician, Ossett, W Yorks. Tarsem Hunjan - Senior Orthodontist, Leeds. Michael O'Byrne-CEO, steps Trustee Oxford. Simon Webster - CEO, London. Steve Jones - Business Manager, Matlock