A Scots composer will embark on an epic journey to take part in Sunday's Kiltwalk, running 30 miles to Los Angeles airport before flying to Glasgow for the event.
Paul Leonard-Morgan is a longtime supporter of of Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity since his daughter Zoë’s life was saved in the neonatal intensive care unit of the former Yorkhill hospital.
The 49-year-old has taken part in a variety of Kiltwalk challenges to raise money for the hospital, all of them based in his adopted home of California.
This year though Mr Leonard-Morgan, who has recently composed scores for the likes of Disney+ sensation Boston Strangler (starring Kiera Knightley) and video game blockbuster Cyberpunk 2077, will make a poignant return to Glasgow.
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Close friend Aidan O’Brien, who inspired Mr Leonard-Morgan to take on his first Kiltwalk 10 years ago, died suddenly in December and the composer will walk past his late pal's house.
He said: "Aidan died before this year’s Kiltwalk, and he had always said I should ‘come and do the big one.’
“I came back in December for his funeral and his friends told me: ‘There’s this walk he used to do, and we’re thinking of doing it.’ They had no idea why he started it and I knew I had to go over and do it with them.
“I’ll get down to Malibu, run along the beach and arrive at LAX in the evening. I go via London and arrive in Glasgow on the Saturday night, and then I’ll meet up with Aidan’s friends and do the Kiltwalk on Sunday morning.
“Together, we are now ‘Team AidanForZoë’.”
Mr Leonard Morgan will again be raising funds for Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity, who saved Zoë's life after she was born with a rare intestinal condition.
“After Zoë was born in Glasgow, we had a visit from the midwife.
“She told us to take Zoë to Yorkhill and when they got there, she stopped breathing just as we arrived. The doctor was convinced it was a condition called Hirschsprung's, which is where your intestine doesn’t work and you can’t poo.
“Incredibly, the doctor was a specialist on it – something like one of nine or 10 in the world at the time. They rushed her in, got her breathing again and cleared her out, before running tests to confirm the doctor’s prognosis.
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“We were in there for six weeks in the end, and we were still in the hospital when my friend Aidan told us about this crazy walk that went past his house in which people wore kilts.
"He was looking to do it to raise money for the hospital that treated Zoë. I thought, ‘I better do this too!’
“We got some friends and relations together, made a team of five and raised around £10,000 which was incredible.”
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