Hi, my name is Sarah Searle. I was involved in a road traffic accident in November 2008 and suffered a broken neck and a laryngeal fracture causing injuries to my larynx and voice box and to my esophagus which stopped me from swallowing and nearly lost my voice. I also had broken metatarsals in my feet. Thankfully my neck has now virtually healed and so have my broken toes but I am still working hard to rehabilitate my swallow and my voice. My efforts are paying off and my swallow is gradually coming back and am starting to eat small amounts of food which is fantastic and have surprised my specialists, although I continue to have to feed myself with fluid food via a LPGD (stomach tube). My voice is also getting stronger with voice exercises. It was a very difficult time in the early stages but after getting rid of the neck brace in March and to help in my physical and mental recovery and get myself back to fitness I decided to set myself a challenge and walk part of the South West Coast Path and raise money for the Cornwall Air Ambulance in recognition of what a fantastic service it is. They were there for me when I needed them and it is a very worthy cause.
I plan to do my walk from 6th September and aim to reach St Ives by the 11th. I am building up my fitness by walking with a full rucsac every day along my local sections of the Coast Path. I will have additional weight to carry in my rucsac as I will have to take my bottled liquid food as well as a litre of glucose water and water for drinking each day.
My friend Jacqueline (Jac) McCready who lives in South London, will be joining me for the whole walk. Her parents were both air lifted to hospital by their own local Air Ambulance (sadly her father did not survive but her mother thankfully did). Together we want to raise as much money as possible for the Cornwall Air Ambulance so we hope you will feel generous in donating to my cause - whatever amount you feel you would like to donate will all add up.
We will be starting our walk from my local beach at Porthcothan (6 miles south of Padstow) and we are aiming for St Ives - a total distance of about 53 miles. We will be doing the walk over about 6 days and will camp in tents each night along the way. Norman and Sally Pitt, good friends from Hampshire, will be driving down in their campervan. They plan to follow our route by road and stay at each campsite we plan to stop off at. They will carry all my necessary food plus extra clothing etc. which will be a huge help. They have even offered a hot meal and a drink in the evenings! Other friends have also said they would like to join us at points along the way to keep us company. Diane Johns, the Financial Administrator for CAAT, also plans to join me at the beginning of my walk. If anyone else fancies joining me at any stage of my walk they are more than welcome! Please contact me via this website.
All the campsites I have contacted at various planned stop off points have very kindly agreed to let us camp free of charge.
I would also like to thank "World of Camping" in Redruth for donating a Gelert Tent and spare tent poles and "Penrose Outdoors" in Truro for giving me discount on my Vango Rucksack.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.
Sarah
I have now completed my challenge. I walked with my friend Jac, leaving Porthcothan on Sunday 6th September and reached St Ives lifeboat station on Friday 11th September. We had an amazing week. The weather was perfect. We saw some stunning scenery. Saw plenty of wildlife. We met many lovely people along the way including some who had been airlifted to hospital by Cornwall Air Ambulance themselves who gave some inspirational stories themselves. We also received several donations as we walked well.
I would like to say a big "thank you" to all those who have made donations both on this website and on sponsor forms and money is till coming in. You dont need to stop just because I have finished the walk!!
I would also like to thank my good friends Sally and Norman for being our "support" along the way and cooked us some lovely evening meals and I would also like to acknowledge all the campsites we stayed at each night - namely Penvose Farm at Watergate Bay, Holywell Bay Holiday Park, Blue Hills Touring Park (nr St Agnes), Trevornick Holiday Park near Porthtowan and Gwithian Farm Holiday Park (nr Hayle), who let us all stay free of charge with free hot water and lovely showers which were very welcome after a long day's walking!
Also a big thanks to all those friends who joined us both at the beginning of our walk - Maud Old, Wendy, Diane Johns the Finance Administrator of the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust and her husband, and Peter Sandry, and on the last day - again Maud Old and Wendy and her mother Peggy (for part of friday) and Ceri. It was lovely to have their support and share in our celebrations when we reached St Ives.
Sarah
