Pensioner Trish Hanlon is now 92 miles into her coast to coast walk to support disabled children in Yorkshire – and she has already raised more than £950.
Trish, who will be 68 next month (July), lost the balance in her right ear two years ago, which sent her staggering, and since then has had to retrain her brain to be able to walk in a straight line. So taking on the 192-mile walk, from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire, over the spring and summer, is a huge challenge for Trish.
She said: “It feels as though I am on board ship all the time, listing. I also have a benign essential tremor in my right hand and arm which comes and goes under times of stress but can become quite violent.”
Trish lives with husband Mike at Catterick Garrison; she is a former church warden at St John the Evangelist at Hipswell and a member of the congregation at St Cuthbert’s in nearby Colburn. Trish said: “I had been taking part in intercessions at the church, praying for change in the world, when I realised you have to step up and make change happen yourself – you can’t just keep asking the world to do it. We have three lovely, healthy grandchildren so it seemed natural to want to do something to help other children who are less fortunate. Newlife was an obvious choice.”
Trish expects to complete the coast to coast challenge by early September. Husband Mike said: “Because of her condition it is a massive undertaking for Trish, but she is determined to complete it and raise as much as she can to help disabled children in the county. Helping Trish to do this walk are her sister, Carole, and brother-in-law, Brian. Brian, being an ex military adventure training instructor, keeps a close eye on Trish to make sure she is not over-doing it and is staying on the right path, whilst Carole provides the humour which keeps spirits high. Other family members will be joining Trish at various stages.”
Newlife is the UK’s largest charity provider of specialist equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness and has helped more than 1,300 children across Yorkshire. It guarantees that every penny Trish raises will be directly spent on vital equipment for a child or children in the county.
If you would like to support Trish, go to: justgiving.com/fundraising/Trish-Hanlon-C2C or www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/TrishC2C
To find out more about Newlife and how it supports families, go to: www.newlifecharity.co.uk/local. Click on your area of the County Map and read stories about how specialist equipment has transformed the lives of children near you.
Pictured: Trish Hanlon
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