Braintree girl's mountain feat sparks coeliac conversations

Last month, Harley Hansen, from Braintree, climbed Mount Snowdon with her dad Glenn to raise awareness and funds for Coeliac UK after being diagnosed with the condition herself.

Her climb not only raised more than £1,500 for the charity but also generated online conversations from people living with the condition.

The Gazette’s social media post marking Harley’s achievement has attracted almost 7,000 likes and more than 300 comments from people keen to congratulate her and talk about their experiences of coeliac disease.

Chloe Cooper said: “This is incredible. Well done lovely! My little girl was diagnosed with coeliac disease a year ago, it’s been amazing to see her gain her energy back & hopefully we’ll have some big adventures too.”

Megan Cotillard said: “What an amazing human! So many people have this disease and many more are getting diagnosed with it every day. So awesome to have it highlighted like this.”

Challenge - Harley Hansen climbed Mount Snowden for Coeliac UK (Image: Glenn Hansen)

Adam Wood said: “Well done! I'm coeliac too but wasn't diagnosed until later life. I imagine it's much harder to manage as a child.”

Harley’s dad Glenn, who was with her every step of the Snowdon climb, replied: “She has taken to it so well. There have been hard moments, usually at birthday parties, but she's very grown up about it and we always have a spare stash of gluten free cupcakes to swap for the gluten cakes! It must be hard as an adult as you're used to eating all these foods throughout your life and have to suddenly stop.”

Others highlighted misconceptions around the disease and their own struggles they had overcome.

Kate Allison said: “Well done, I'm ceoliac but have many other chronic conditions since having my ceoliac diagnosis. It's not easy to live with and there's a misconception it's just a case of being gluten free and that's all that's involved when it's so much more.”

Support - Harley's dad Glenn climbed the mountain with her to help her in her mission (Image: Glenn Hansen)

Janice Thomas said: “Well done, people still don't understand Coeliac disease especially in children. I suffered for 50 years until I read an article and sussed it out for myself. Thankfully I had a great GP. I hope this helps other people consider if their health problems could be CD!”

Holly Taylor said: “Well done! Great achievement. I have two daughters age 10 and seven with coeliac disease it is great to see so many young people showing people what they are made of and raising awareness at the same time.”

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition where the immune system reacts abnormally to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye.

When someone with coeliac disease eats gluten, their immune system attacks the lining of the small intestine, and the damage can lead to a wide range of symptoms.

To learn more, visit https://www.coeliac.org.uk.

To support Harley's fundraiser, visit 'Harley's fundraiser for Coeliac UK' on Just Giving.