A GEOGRAPHY teacher and 17 of her friends will be embarking on a blister-inducing 40-mile walk at the end of the month in a bid to raise £3,000 for Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
Abigail Makin, 33, from Darlington, has set herself and her friends the challenge of walking from the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVI), in Newcastle, to Barnard Castle on Saturday, August 29. The aim is to raise awareness and cash for charity following her friend Sam Alexander’s double lung transplant earlier this year. She said: “We are raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, not only to thank them for the work they do every day for patients and families but for our friend Sam.
Mr Alexander, 28, who lives in Barnard Castle, has cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition that affects about 10,00 people in the UK. The life-limiting condition thickens mucus in the lungs that can cause difficulty in breathing, requiring regular physiotherapy.
After a year on the transplant waiting list, Mr Alexander underwent the transplant at the RVI on February 21.
Ms Makin, a member of Stokesley Hockey Club, added: “I despise the word inspirational, because it is used too often, but Sam has never once complained. He says there are worst things to worry about.
“All of us doing the walk don’t know what he has to go through – we don’t have cystic fibrosis. If we get a few blisters while we doing that walk that’s fine. “She has plotted a route from the hospital to Barney and hopes the group will be able to complete the walk in 14 hours, setting off at 5am.
She said: “At the moment there are 18 of us doing the walk and we’re all different ages, ranging from 60 years down to 18.
“When I was plotting the route, I had wanted to keep to footpaths as much as possible, using some of the Teesdale Way, but that was a lot more miles to cover at 57 miles. The route I’ve opted for mirrors minor roads and over the next week I’ll be out in the car plotting out sections where we can get on to footpaths a bit more.”
She and her friends will be shadowed by a support vehicle, driven by fellow hockey club member Sue Hodgson. The van will ensure all the walkers have plenty of water and plasters on hand.
Ms Makin said: “We’ve set a target of £3,000 but we hope that we can exceed that. We’ll be bringing out buckets at the different villages we go through and hopefully we can get some money slung in for the charity as we go through.
“We don’t know what time we’ll reach Barney. I’ve estimated it should take us 14 hours, but that’s not accounting for blister stops or toilet breaks, but we’re hoping Sam will be able to see us coming into town, at a distance.”
She hopes to finish the walk at the Barnard Castle sign on Bridgegate and will be providing updates throughout the day at justgiving.com/
fundraising/abigail-makin
Mr Alexander said: “I’m doing really well now and it’s great Abigail is doing the walk and raising the funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. They do a lot of really good work to help people with the condition and their families.
“It’s a debilitating condition that can lead to transplant and I was one of those. I can’t thank th team at the RVI and the transplant team at the Freeman enough for everything they’ve done for me. Without the donor’s family’s generosity, I might not be here now.”
