Devon woman pushes through the pain to fund vital research into brain tumours
For Dawn Michelin, the fight against brain tumours is personal, and no ordinary fundraising challenge would do.
Dawn, from Devon, has set herself an epic walking target, after losing her father and her best friend to the illness.
Dawn, landlord of the Horse and Groom in Bittaford, has tasked herself with walking an incredible 3.5 million steps in 2020 – further than the distance between Lands’ End to John O’Groats - to raise vital funds for The Brain Tumour Charity, the UK’s leading charity dedicated to fighting this devastating disease.
Dawn’s father died six years ago from a glioblastoma, the most common aggressive form of brain tumour in adults.
And heartbreakingly, in February this year, her best friend Hazel died of a medulloblastoma, after a twenty year fight against the disease.
Dawn’s walking challenge is all the more difficult for her because she has her own health problems to contend with. She suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory disease which causes joint stiffness, as well as heart, and autoimmune disease.
Dawn said: “Like most of us I have my own daily health battles, but when you see people you love quickly lose themselves, no longer able to do even the simplest of tasks we take for granted, unable to recognise loved ones around them, it’s totally heartbreaking.
“And when your Dad doesn’t recognise you it really does haunt you, and makes you think differently about your own life, and that things could actually be much worse.”
Despite some tough health setbacks at the beginning of the year, (having already undergone two surgeries for her ankylosing spondylitis, which causes spinal fusion, she has put a third operation on hold for the duration of this challenge).
Dawn has made impressive progress towards her goal, and might even hit her target by summer. Even the coronavirus outbreak has not deterred her, and she is able to walk on her own near her home on Dartmoor.
“It’s a scary world at the moment for us all but once this nightmare we’re all living is over many will still be fighting their biggest battle of their lives so I will continue to do what I can and hopefully I’ll raise more money when the world gets back to normal, and Covid-19 is finally over.”
Geraldine Pipping, The Charity’s Director of Fundraising, said: “We are extremely grateful for all the efforts made by our fantastic fundraisers and wish them all the very best.
“Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of the under 40s and, unlike other cancers, survival rates have not improved over the last 40 years.
“We are leading the way in changing this and truly fighting brain tumours on all fronts through our work.
“We receive no government funding and rely 100% on voluntary donations, so it’s only through the efforts of people like Dawn that we can change these shocking statistics in the future and bring hope to the thousands of people who are diagnosed with a brain tumour every year.”
The Brain Tumour Charity is the UK’s largest dedicated brain tumour charity, committed to fighting brain tumours on all fronts.
They fund pioneering research to increase survival and improve treatment options as well as raising awareness of the symptoms and effects of brain tumours to bring about earlier diagnosis.
The Charity also provides support for everyone affected so that they can live as full a life as possible, with the best quality of life.
- Find out more: https://www.thebraintumourcharity.org/
