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'Team Saoirse' (pronounced Sear-sha) is calling for teams to sign up and join them on the Trek the Night: Cotswold Way. The event sets out from Dursley at midnight on 11 June 2017 and will raise vital funds for children's charity Action Medical Research.
The team is walking in memory of baby Saoirse, daughter of Pippa and Danny Curtin, who sadly died last May at just five days old from necrotising enterocolitis (NEC), a condition into which the charity is funding research.
Pippa and Danny, of North Lincs, and their friend Sarah Hudson, of Stratford-upon-Avon, make up Team Saoirse who are aiming to raise £1,500 for the charity by completing the epic hike, as well as through other fundraising events. Their next training target is a 10-mile sponsored training walk with friends, taking a circular route from Broadway, Cotswolds, on 1 April.
Trek the Night is a charity walk with a BIG difference: teams will need their stamina and wits about them to navigate a 40-mile route through the darkness as they push on from midnight to watch the sun rise and steam ahead through the following day.
Pippa said that the challenge was a positive way for her to channel her grief after losing her daughter to NEC when she was born prematurely at 33-and-a-half weeks.
"In the name of our baby girl we wanted to do something positive and try to stop other families going through a similar situation.
I love the fresh air and the space to think when I'm out walking. My husband and I usually walk the dog together but now we are increasing the miles and getting our friends and family involved by training and fundraising with us."
NEC happens when the lining of a baby’s intestines becomes inflamed and starts to die. The exact cause of this is unknown. Around three per cent of newborns in neonatal units develop the disorder.2 Sadly, up to 35 per cent of these babies die.1,2Premature babies, those with a very low birth weight and babies who are already poorly are the most susceptible to this life-threatening condition.
Teams participating in Trek the Night: Cotswold Way will be raising money for Action Medical Research, which has helped pioneer treatments and ways to prevent disease that have benefited millions of people in the UK and across the world for 65 years. Research they’ve funded has helped to beat polio in the UK, develop ultrasound in pregnancy, fight meningitis and prevent stillbirths.
The charity is currently funding research into conditions including NEC, prematurity, epilepsy, meningitis, cerebral palsy, brain cancer and some rare and distressing conditions.
Enter Trek the Night today at action.org.uk/trek-night-cotswold-way – teams pay £150 to register and must pledge to raise a minimum total of £1,500 (or £1,200 for the Lite Trek), while solo walkers pay £38 and commit to raising £375.
To support Team Saoirse: https://www.action.org.uk/sponsor/teamsaoirse
- ENDS -
Refs:
- Rees CM, Eaton S, Pierro A. Trends in infant mortality from necrotising enterocolitis in England and Wales and the USA. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2008; 93: F395-6.
- Statnikov Y, Santhakumaran S, Manktelow B, Modi N (on behalf of the Neonatal Data Analysis Unit). Surveillance of necrotising enterocolitis in England, Neonatal Society Abstracts, The Neonatal Society. Website accessed 16 March 2011: http://www.neonatalsociety.ac.uk/abstracts/statnikovy_2010_necsurveillance.shtml
To download high-res images of Pippa and Pippa and husband Danny, please click on the links below:
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/pippa_curtin_and_husband.jpg
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/pippa_curtin_and_dog.jpg
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/saoirse_1.jpg
To download high-res images of previous treks, please click on the links below:
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/cotswolds_plod.jpg
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/cotswolds_plod_1.jpg
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/cotswolds_plod_2.jpg
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/cotswolds_plod_3.jpg
NOTES TO EDITORS:
For more information on Action Medical Research, contact Peter Denton, Fundraising Communications Officer, on:
T: 01403 327480
Follow us on Twitter at @actionmedres and @amr_events
Like our Facebook page at facebook.com/actionmedres
Follow us at pinterest/actionmedres
Action Medical Research is a leading UK-wide charity saving and changing children’s lives through medical research. For 65 years we’ve helped pioneer ways to prevent disease and develop treatments benefiting millions of people. Our research has helped to beat polio in the UK, develop ultrasound in pregnancy, fight meningitis and prevent stillbirths. But we urgently need to develop more new treatments and cures for sick babies and children and we can’t do it without you.
Join our fight for little lives today.
Charity reg. nos 208701 and SC039284.