Fourteen Asturian peaks for love of Rosana

The combination of solidarity and sport is always a winning bet. Ask Miguel Fernández, who proposed at the beginning of summer to run up a total of fourteen Asturian ports through which the Cycling Tour of Spain has passed, in order to give visibility to the mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS), a disease that he suffers Rosana Casasola, his 19-year-old goddaughter. There are currently only twenty cases in the country. “You cannot understand what you do not know,” Fernández reasons, since the low number of people who suffer from it makes it a rare or minority disease. This also affects your research, as it is not economically profitable to develop it.

In three months Miguel Fernández has already reached thirteen summits, among which are La Cobertoria, El Gamoniteiru and El Naranco. His promotion to the emblematic Angliru stands out, which he acknowledges has been the hardest test: “It made me want to cry.” To end his challenge, he will go up this Saturday to the Lakes of Covadonga, “a thirteen kilometer route in a legendary place in Asturias.” This impetuous athlete from Ujo points out that it will be the longest distance he is going to face, but he hopes it will not be the hardest. “Climbing the Gamoniteiru with 26 degrees was terrible,” he stresses.

It is the first time that he has dared with a challenge of this type, for which he assures that “having a good background” is essential. He has it, and with his two senses. He is a judo teacher and now competes nationally and internationally in the veterans category. The challenge, he tells us, arose as a result of the pandemic, since by engaging in a contact sport the issue was strictly paralyzed. And since he defines himself as a ‘restless ass’, he was training for a year to be able to carry out the challenge.

María José Díaz, Rosana’s mother, explains what mucopolysaccharidosis is: “It is a degenerative disease that causes bone, vision and respiratory problems. It is very hard because those affected are aware that they are losing faculties. Few of us suffer from it, but we are very lonely, ”he laments. Despite this, she proudly tells that «Rosana is a very hardworking girl who has always strived to be a good student. Now she has started to do it at home because she had a hard time in class due to visual limitations, but she is calmer because she studies what she likes and does not have the pressure of grades ».

Miguel Fernández emphasizes that the challenge is not financial: “I am not doing it for money, but for love.” For him, the biggest prize is seeing his goddaughter waiting for him at the end of each summit. “We have a very special relationship. She calls me ‘the mad godfather’ because I continually play the clown to make her smile, but she always ends up making me smile, ”says Fernández. The effort has already begun to pay off. «In Gijón a person stopped me to congratulate me. That filled me up and helped me know that what I’m doing is worth it. I would repeat it as many times as necessary ».

Rosana’s parents responded excitedly to this initiative: «Any grain of sand is a mountain for us, but what Miguel is doing we will never forget. It is a gesture of infinite love from a person with a heart as big as him.