Charity mourns its inspiration

1:20pm Saturday 7th April 2007

JENNY Greene, the inspiration behind a charity that has helped youngsters around the globe, has died at the age of 28.

Brave Jenny passed away on Wednesday last week after finally losing her battle with cancer.

When she was born with a rare metabolic condition Jenny's parents Peter and Lesley, from Nantwich, searched desperately for help and advice.

They eventually found a treatment in America, but instead of stopping there, they devoted their lives to helping other kids suffering from similar conditions.

Appalled by the lack of help available, they set up the Research Trust for Metabolic Diseases in Children from their former home in 1981.

Some years later it was renamed CLIMB and based on Nantwich Road it now helps hundreds of families around world.

Speaking before Jenny passed away, mum Lesley said: "The minimal information available was out of date, scientific and terrifying.

"Apparently there was nobody else like us, no treatment and no clinician experienced in managing the situation.

"Peter and I set up the Research Trust for Metabolic Disease in Children because we believed there must be answers, better information, specialists, researchers, contacts with others and treatments, not just for cystinosis but for the hundreds of other metabolic diseases we now heard about.

"CLIMB aims to provide what Peter and I were told was not available in 1981."

Jenny, who worked as a teaching assistant at Highfields Primary School in Nantwich, suffered from the metabolic condition cystinosis, which attacks the kidneys.

Despite the treatment her kidneys failed at the age of 11 and she needed a transplant.

Her weakened immune system saw her taken very ill by shingles and the transplant eventually ceased to function.

And during her 20s Jenny was twice struck down by cancer. She was in remission when treatments for her latest illness proved unsuccessful.

A Songs of Praise service, held at St Mary's Church on Saturday to celebrate 25 years of Climb, held a special poignancy following the tragic news.

Jenny's funeral will be held on Saturday at St Mary's Church in Nantwich at 3pm. Donations will be accepted in lieu of flowers for the Jen Greene Galaxy Tribute Fund at CLIMB.