Wayne Millar and his sons Jeff and Brett all originally from Lithgow, organised the trip of a lifetime with a group of close friends for Jeff’s children Charlie and Zara.

Wayne was born in Lithgow in 1956 and worked as a civil engineer at Mount Piper and Wallerawang Powerstation.

His son Jeff was born in Lithgow in 1981 and attended Lithgow Public School and Lithgow High.

Jeff’s younger brother Brett was born in 1987 and also attended Lithgow Public. The family moved to Wagga Wagga in 1997.

At the raw age of two Jeff’s baby boy Charlie was diagnosed with A-T.

A-T is an extremely rare condition that affects approximately 40 children in Australia.

It is a disease that has combined symptoms of muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, immune system deficiencies and a high rate of cancer.

Wife of Jeff and mother of Charlie and Zara, Carly Millar said they had never heard of the condition.

“It all began when he started to walk, he was very wobbly and would fall over a lot then came the immune side he spent most of 2016 in and out of hospital,” she said.

Eventually tests were done and Charlie was diagnosed with the incurable disease.

“We were heartbroken, and in disbelief six months later his seemingly healthy little sister Zara was also diagnosed,” Carly said.

Charlie is now four and Zara is two years old, their family’s ‘Walk to Everest for A-T’ mission saw 24 mates from around Wagga Wagga complete a 12 day trek from Kathmandu to Mount Everest Base Camp.

“We came up with the idea last Christmas to raise money for our non for profit charity BrAshA-T Ataxia-Telangiectasia.

“We set a goal of $100,000 to go towards research, we’ve currently raised $200,000. We have been blown away by the kindness and generosity of others,” Carly said.

Charlie and Zara’s father Jeff Millar said the trek was bound to be hard, but not compared to what potentially lies ahead for his children and the other 30 to 40 children in Australia living with A-T.

“There is a cure out there, we just need to find it,” he said.

He also said the trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity for a great cause.

“What a trip, a test of the mind and body for myself and 23 friends and family,” he said. 

The group had a false start on day one due to inclement weather.

“Day two got us back on schedule and we walked 20kms and climbed over 1000m which was a real welcome to the Himalayas,” Jeff said.

He also said seeing the rope bridges and white cap mountain peaks on route was the highlight of the scenery, with the size and number increasing as the trek went on.

“We faced a few challenges, there were some really cold nights that set in with minus 18 degrees on the last two nights,” he said.

Jeff said day eight climbing from Dingbouche to Labouche was one of the toughest days and he wouldn’t have been surprised to see the group halved by the end of it.

“We had to leave a team member behind after lunch as he couldn’t continue due to High Altitude Pulmonary Edema confirmed by doctors that evening, it was tough leaving someone behind,” he said.

He said the final day saw every member simply put one foot in front of the other to reach base camp.

“Once we arrived the adrenaline allowed us to celebrate with photos and an afternoon snack, taking in the views, before heading back to the lodge,” he said.

Jeff said the things he found the hardest were the low oxygen levels, headaches from the brain swelling at altitude, cold nights and leaving the family at home.

“We were all able to overcome this with good company and a few stories and laughs, but it will never be as hard as what my children will face in their future,” he said.

Jeff and Carly urged anyone who can spare a few dollars, to donate to such a worthy cause and help those suffering with A-T.

You can follow Charlie and Zara’s journey on the Walk to Everest for A-T Facebook page and donations can be made at https://brashat.org.au

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