Two staff from the South Eastern Trust, Specialist Clinical Psychologist, Leigh Crawford and Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist, Emma Fitzsimons pulled on their hiking boots over the weekend to take on the gruelling Macmillan Mighty Causeway Hike raising over £5,000 for the cancer charity.
The duo, who are Cousins, took on the iconic Giant’s Causeway and clocked up 56,000 steps over 26 miles of rocky terrain and hills as Emma and Leigh praised their South Eastern Trust colleagues for their kind donations and support through their hike.
Taking on the challenge, Emma explained, “We hiked alongside my two sisters, so there were four cousins in total and a friend also joined us. Training normally involved incorporating a hot coffee stop or ice lollies and walking for as long as physically possible as we chatted about anything and everything to distract from our aching feet!”
Emma shared how the group faced the challenge with a really positive attitude knowing that they had already raised so much money. Emma added, “The sun was shining as we put on the glitter at the start line and we filled ourselves with jelly babies along the route. We both had our struggles on the day especially after mile 22 with the heat, blisters were forming and energy levels were absolutely depleted. Leigh dug so deep and motored to the finish line and kept pushing me to do the same. I struggled for the last two miles with blisters, but the whole team pushed each other through any pain to make sure we all crossed the finish line holding hands.
“We listened to everything from Whitney Houston to Coldplay along the way which kept us going, we sang, we danced and we laughed. Nothing could have prepared us for the terrain we experienced but the scenery of the beautiful North Coast made such an amazing backdrop for our challenge. The moment of crossing the finish line and getting a big hug from the Macmillan volunteers made everything worth it. There was not a dry eye by the end of our nine hours and 59 minutes!”
When asked why the family decided to fundraise for Macmillan Emma replied, “My sister’s family have had a very challenging year with a diagnosis of cancer and even in the very early stages saw immediately how kind, compassionate and invaluable the Macmillan Nurses at the Haematology Unit in the Ulster Hospital have been. The Macmillan Nurses have listened with empathy, offered support and are so important for anyone experiencing cancer to make sure they know they are not alone. It is vital the person with cancer, but also their families, receive the help and support they need. We, like many other families, have experienced cancer on a very personal level over the years with my own Dad battling many forms of the disease. He would not be here if it was not for charities like this.
“Our colleagues in the South Eastern Trust have been amazing in donating to support us through the hike.”