Mother and daughter team set to take on charity walk

A determined mother and daughter team will don their best pyjamas for a special challenge as they take part in a charity walk.

Pulling on her comfiest trainers, Belle Chilvers hopes to be able to raise as much as possible for St Nicholas Hospice Care when she takes part in their Girls Night Out walk.

The event will be extra special for Belle, as, joined by her daughter Jessie it will be her chance to complete the event after being prevented from doing so by illness for the last two years.

Belle said: “I am absolutely determined to take part this year. For me, this is so much more than a fundraiser. It’s about achieving a goal that I set myself some time ago.”

Belle had wanted to take part in the walk in 2016 but she was unable to take part after she was diagnosed with stage three secondary melanoma.

Following an operation to remove a malignant tumour from her inner leg, and lymph nodes from her upper leg and across her abdomen Belle was diagnosed with lymphoedema in her left leg, which meant she was unable to join 2017’s walk.

Although the lymphoedema causes her a huge amount of pain, difficulty walking and swelling, with a little help from the Bury St Edmunds Rickshaw and her daughter Jessie, Belle has signed up to complete the event’s six mile route.

Belle said: “I know wanting to complete the six-mile route is very ambitious and it will be extremely tough, but I am so determined to do it. I am very stubborn and I won’t give up.

“I do have post-surgery muscle and nerve damage which means I constantly fall and have difficulty walking on an incline or on uneven surfaces, which is why I am grateful to be going in the rickshaw for the first section.

“I have been working on building up my strength and endurance and I just want to give it a go.

“I will also have my daughter Jessie with me. I have told her she might have to give me a piggyback over the finish line, but I am looking forward to being able to take part with her. We are such a team and we always will be.”

Taking place on Saturday, 8 September, this year the walk, which is supported by main sponsor JM Finn, will see women dressed in pyjamas and wearing flashing bunny ears walk 11.2 or six miles around Bury St Edmunds.

Women can register for the sponsored walk for £15 per person. You can sign up online at www.girlsnightoutwalk.co.uk or pick up an application form from one of the hospice’s shops.

The walk sets off from Angel Hill at 8pm. You must be aged 14 to take part and those between 14 and 17 must walk with someone over the age of 18.

The Bury St Edmunds Rickshaw project is based on the Cycling Without Age scheme that originated in Copenhagen and is now popular in many towns and cities all over the world.

The project involves obtaining funding for a rickshaw, recruiting and training volunteer riders, and then offering free rides around the town to people experiencing limited mobility/and or social isolation.

You can support Belle and Jessie’s fundraising here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/belle-jessie-chilvers