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Breathe for Jennifer - Raising H.A.P.E Awareness
0% complete
£5,706 raised of £7.5K
87 donations
My beautiful daughter Jennifer Ashton lost her life suddenly on the 27 August 2026 while travelling in Bolivia after developing High-Altitude Pulmonary Oedema (HAPE).
Jennifer was only 37 years old, she was fit and healthy, with no known underlying health conditions. She was adventurous, ambitious, independent and full of life. She loved to travel, experience new things and set herself challenges and goals, some of her goals for this year was to travel solo to South America to experience Machu Picchu in Peru and the Salt Flats in Bolivia both of which she achieved but at the cost to her life.
HAPE is a potentially life-threatening condition in which fluid builds up quickly in the lungs at high altitude. It is one of the serious illnesses that can occur at altitude, alongside the more commonly recognised Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). What has become painfully clear to us since losing Jennifer is how little awareness there is of altitude illness among ordinary travellers — the warning signs, how quickly a situation can become serious, and when urgent action is needed.
We want that to change.
In Jennifer's memory, we are establishing The Jennifer Ashton HAPE Foundation, with three simple aims: Awareness • Education • Support.
We want to raise awareness of HAPE and serious altitude illness, help travellers understand the risks and warning signs, and provide information and support to those affected and their families.
Breathe for Jennifer- Raising HAPE Awareness is the fundraising campaign supporting the establishment and future work of The Jennifer Ashton HAPE Foundation.
What your donation will help us do
- Developing a dedicated HAPE and altitude-illness awareness website
- Registration of the Foundation as a Charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
- Creating clear educational resources for travellers
- Producing awareness materials for social media and community campaigns
- Working with appropriate medical professionals and organisations to ensure the information we share is responsible and accurate
- Developing resources explaining warning signs and when urgent help may be needed
- Meeting the initial costs involved in establishing and developing the Foundation
Our initial fundraising goal is £7,500.
Every donation, regardless of size, will help us take another step towards creating something meaningful and lasting in Jennifer’s memory.
The Jennifer Ashton HAPE Foundation is currently being established, and we will keep everyone who supports Breathe for Jennifer updated as the Foundation develops and as the money raised begins to be put to work.
We cannot change what happened to Jennifer.
But if her story helps another traveller understand the risks, recognise the warning signs earlier or seek urgent medical help sooner, then something positive can grow from an unimaginable loss.
Please help us turn Jennifer’s memory into greater awareness of HAPE.
If you can donate, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
And if you aren’t able to donate, please consider sharing this page. Sharing Jennifer’s story may reach somebody preparing for a high-altitude journey who has never heard of HAPE.
Together, we can Breathe for Jennifer. ❤️
Bella and family