Sally Overcomes Family Tragedy for Charity

SafeHands for Mothers

A midwife who works at the new maternity unit in Queen Alexandra Hospital has just completed a grueling 135 kilometre walk across Spain in aid of the charity ‘SafeHands for Mothers’.

Midwife, Sally Griffiths, is back home on Hayling Island after an intensely physical and emotional six day Spanish pilgrimage which began in the village of Triacastela, followed the Way of St James and finished at Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

Covering between 12 and 15 miles a day, Sally has already raised over £3,000 to help prevent maternal deaths in pregnancy and childbirth in Ethiopia, and is still collecting money from people who continue to be impressed by her achievement.

‘When I see such awful conditions in Africa and compare them to the state of the art equipment at the new Queen Alexandra Hospital, my heart goes out to them,’ explains Sally. ‘I was very honoured to be nominated to take part in the challenge.’

Overcoming uphill climbs along country roads in the summer heat was the least of Sally’s troubles. At the end of the second day, she received a phone call from her husband to say that her mother, Patricia, had passed away at the age of 80.

‘My mother had suffered from chronic asthma for many years and her breathing had deteriorated considerably in the months before I left. When I suggested that I stay, she was adamant that I had to do the walk. I knew she was so proud of what I was doing and would have been so miserable if I had not gone.’

After receiving the devastating news, Sally was convinced to carry on with the walk by her father, Patrick, who had been married to her mother for 58 years. ‘He told me that it was what both he and my mother would have wanted. They moved from Ireland to Hayling Island last December so I could be near them and I am fortunate to have been able to tell my mother everyday how much I loved her, so I decided to carry on.’

By the fourth day, in addition to the emotion Sally was going through, she began to get severe physical pain in her foot. ‘We had an orthopedic surgeon walking with the team and he diagnosed a stress fracture in my foot. I shouldn’t really have carried on, but having stayed out there at my late mother’s request, I was determined to finish the walk in her memory.’

After coming home to arrange and attend her mother’s funeral, Sally is now taking a few days off to cope with all that has happened and allow her foot to heal. ‘Everyone around me - family, friends and colleagues at work - have been so understanding and supportive. I don’t think I could have achieved what I did or got through the past few weeks without such love and kindness.’

To make your donation for Sally’s Walk for Life, visit www.justgiving.com/sallygriffiths.