Highways Veteran’s Charity Cycle Ride for Granddaughter’s Cerebral Palsy Treatment

Martin Duffy who has over 40 years in the Highways Sector is embarking on a charity cycle ride in early July to raise funds for his granddaughter, who was born with Cerebral Palsy just over two years ago.

Isla’s condition has greatly impacted her life, and her family wants to do all they can to help her live a more independent life, including the ability to sit on her own, stand, possibly talk, and eventually take independent steps. Born prematurely at 27 weeks, the first few months of Isla’s life were touch and go, but after 107 days in the hospital, this little fighter came home.

Stem cell treatment is available in the USA, and after months of testing, Isla has been accepted by the global leader in this field of research, Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg. Isla is a match with the stem cells taken from her baby brother, Leo, and the clinical trials have shown positive results. However, the treatment is costly, which is why Isla’s grandfather is fundraising.

Despite having two replacement knees and a replacement shoulder, Martin is determined to complete the challenge with the support of his great pals Andrew McKie and Dave Merrick, who will provide all the encouragement necessary. They will cycle from Bath to Salisbury before heading north to Marlborough and then back to Bath. This will be a challenging feat, as the furthest the Martin has cycled before is 25 miles.

Martin aims to raise what he can towards an overall target of £25k for Isla’s treatment and the resulting intensive physio. If you would like to support Isla’s cause, please follow the link to his fundraising page. You can also follow Isla’s journey on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/littlemissislathesmiler

Martin is well known within the highways, transportation, and construction sector, starting his career with local government in the 1980s before moving to Buro Happold in 1998. He became a Partner in 2008 and retired from the partnership in 2012 to establish his own consultancy, ToweyDuffy & Co. Martin joined Kier Highways as their Collaboration and Improvement Director in 2017 before retiring in 2019 and co-founding D2M2. He was appointed as the CEO of the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG) in 2020 and as Chairman of North Yorkshire Highways in 2021. He has been involved in government and industry initiatives and produced guidance documents on various topics.

Martin quoted “We have a window of opportunity to have Isla treated because of the necessary ratio of active stem cells to weight – and Isla is slowly getting bigger.

If you are able to help in these difficult times we would be humbled, and along with mummy, daddy and Isla, grateful for a lifetime. Likewise, if you’re able to share and follow Isla’s Instagram page this helps us raise awareness about cerebral palsy and tells Isla’s story to more people and for that we would be equally appreciative.”

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/martin-duffy