The managing director, of award-winning Colchester-based PR consultancy, Big Wave PR, Hilary Collins, will be walking 286 miles over cliffs, beaches and rocks around the Cornish coastal path to raise much-needed funds for Gt Ormond Street Hospital.
The trek will take her from Bude to Plymouth in a mammoth journey for a cause that is very close to her heart. Hilary’s daughter, Ciara Collins-Allen, has been under Gt Ormond’s Street’s care since she was just a few weeks’ old. She explains: “My daughter has an unusual birthmark (haemangioma). It came up on her face a couple of weeks after she was born, but we also discovered that she had one in her throat too and she struggled to breathe. She was given an operation to laser the birthmark, but it didn’t go to plan and she ended up in intensive care for three very scary days. Since that time, she’s returned to Gt Ormond Street every few months for further laser treatment on her face and the birthmarks have receded a lot, but she will remain a patient for several years to come.”
She continued: “So, I’ve always wanted to repay the amazing staff at Gt Ormond Street for saving my daughter’s life. Her journey to recovery is a long one, so I think it’s only fitting my fundraising effort is a long journey too.”
The fundraising walk will be raising funds for the dermatology unit at Gt Ormond Street Hospital who require thousands of pounds to pay for new specialist lasers.
Hilary will be undertaking the walk in three sections. To support Hilary in her fundraising venture, please visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/cornishcoastalpathgosh. You can also follow her journey on Instagram @MumsJourneyofThankstoGOSH. Thanks to the support of award-winning PR consultancy, Big Wave PR, every single penny raised will go direct to Gt Ormond Street Hospital. The walk is also helped by branding and graphic design agency, Phelan Barker.