A GROUP of Westbury mothers have raised over £2,200 for Southmead Hospital in Bristol, walking with prams and babies in tow from The View at the White Horse Country Park to the White Horse.
The 12 mothers got into the festive spirit for the walk as they dressed their babies in Christmas-themed clothes and donned Santa hats. The walkers were treated to warm drinks and hot soup at the top of the White Horse for their efforts.
The walk was organised by Shelley Hargreaves, who attended the walk with her baby Felicity. Shelley was raising money for Southmead Hospital, where staff removed a benign tumour in her brain five years ago.
Shelley explained, “In 2006 I started getting headaches and strange sensations and in 2008 I was referred to Bath’s Royal United Hospital who couldn’t identify the cause for six years; they concluded that everything was normal.
“It was only when I was sent to Frenchay Hospital following worsening symptoms, that they identified the tumour and diagnosed me with epilepsy. Epilepsy is difficult to treat in women as a lot of medication would risk fertility, so for seven years I tried a variety of different safe medications. In 2018, I decided that there was only one option left that wouldn’t affect my chances of having children in the future and that was to have the tumour removed.
“Southmead Hospital have been incredible with that, and I cannot thank them enough! To say that their support has been life-changing would be an understatement, they truly gave me my life back. After a year of recovery and 15 months’ not driving, I can say I have made a full recovery. I am very lucky to be here to celebrate my new life with my family and friends.
“I decided a great way to give back to the hospital would be to raise money for new equipment with a fundraising event, and it seemed a good challenge to walk from The View to the White Horse.
“This walk also acted as a celebration for me personally as five years on from the surgery, I am in good health, the tumour and the epilepsy are gone and I have a lovely little girl in Felicity – there’s so much to celebrate in my life now! It was so lovely to celebrate this milestone with my friends and their babies, thank you to everyone who donated as well – your money is really appreciated!”
Ian Riddell, community support officer at Southmead Hospital Charity said, “We’re so incredibly grateful to Shelley for organising her fundraising walk and smashing her initial fundraising target of £600 to raise over £2,200 for Southmead Hospital!
“It’s thanks to generous and determined fundraisers like Shelley and her friends that we can support our patients, their families, and our staff across North Bristol NHS Trust. Thank you to everyone who took part, and to every single person who donated money and time to celebrate our amazing NHS.”
You can still donate to Shelley’s fundraising efforts by visiting https://southmeadhospitalcharity.enthuse.com/pf/shelley-price or by scanning the QR code.
Mother’s walk to the White Horse raises money for “lifechanging” Southmead Hospital (Shelley Price)
