Northampton dad to walk 70 miles to West Ham stadium in memory of son Luke Abrahams
A Northampton dad is set to walk 70 miles to West Ham’s Stadium in memory of his son.
Richard Abrahams, from East Hunsbury, is set to walk from Sixfields Stadium, Northampton, to West Ham’s London Stadium from May 5 to May 7 alongside friend Martin McBrien.
Luke, aged 20, a well-known amateur footballer in the town, sadly died in January 2023, a week after first reporting a sore throat.
Luke was diagnosed with sepsis and necrotising fasciitis and then underwent leg amputation surgery but died shortly after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Sepsis is a serious reaction to an infection that can lead to organ failure and be life-threatening if not treated quickly.
Necrotising fasciitis is a rare but dangerous bacterial infection that spreads fast and destroys soft tissue.
An inquest into Luke’s death is happening but the family have been told not until 2026 at the earliest.
Dad Richard said: “Who’d have thought I’d be doing it with two false hips at 63 years old. We’re looking at two and a half days – 30 miles on Monday, 30 miles Tuesday, then roughly 20 miles on Wednesday. We want to be at West Ham stadium at 2.30pm.
"The idea came from Martin. It’s just the two of us as we want to focus on what we’re doing. We’re buzzing for it.”
He added: “Two reasons why I’m doing it. One, to keep Luke’s legacy alive. Two, to highlight that he should still be with us.
“It’s very important to highlight this and keep his name alive. We want justice, we want everyone to know what happened and to make sure it never happens again.
"The support has been fantastic. Everyone's behind us. The Collingtree Pub have put on a surprise quiz night to raise funds for it. Two women, Atlanta Benham and Charlotte Disbury of CJS Events Solutions, donated accommodation for the walk after learning about Luke and his journey.”
Martin said: “Those who knew Luke would tell you that football was his life and we thought no better way to raise money and awareness for two wonderful charities which are very close to our hearts than to walk from Luke’s hometown of Northampton to his beloved West Ham’s stadium.
“Anything that anyone can donate will go a long way to helping these charities in raising awareness etc. All funds raised will be split equally between both charities.”
The pair will be raising funds for the Sepsis UK charity and the Lee Spark Foundation.
The JustGiving page has already raised £780 of its £1,200 target.