A hospice doctor taking part in the Midnight Walk from Nantwich to Crewe has issued a rallying cry for more women to sign up.
The June 29 event will raise thousands of pounds for St Luke’s Hospice (Cheshire), which cares for patients and families across the county.
This year, the hospice’s medical director Dr Kate Smith (pictured) is taking part for the first time.
And she is calling on more women to sign up for either the 13-mile full walk, or the 6.5 mile Half Moon walk.
Dr Smith, from Middlewich, said: “This is the first year I have done the Midnight Walk, but I felt that as it was St Luke’s 25th anniversary and my 25th year here as well that it seemed like a good idea.
“Also, I have been keeping a bit fitter this year, and have lost quite a bit of weight, so the hips and knees aren’t quite so achy!
“My main exercise is swimming, but since I’ve been practising for the walk I have realised the muscles used in swimming are not the same as those used in walking!
“I’m doing a lot of walking along the canal towpaths, discovering bits of the town I never knew existed.
“You can soon feel you are out in the middle of the countryside, and by walking you see much more of the wildlife – I spotted my first swallows of the year the other day. People you meet out walking are all friendly and so are their dogs.”
Dr Smith first joined the hospice back in 1988 while she was working as GP in Winsford.
She was approached by a matron from Leighton Hospital and asked if she would be a volunteer doctor providing emergency cover at the hospice.
“As anyone who works here will know, you gradually get drawn into the place, and so it happened to me,” she added.
“When the In-Patient unit was built, it was suggested I apply for the post of Medical Director, which I did and was successful.
“I have been in the job since October 1990. I think coming to work here was one of the best decisions I have made.
“From my time in the hospital I realised the care provided for people at the end of their lives seemed to have a lower priority than trying to cure them, and death was seen as something of a failure.
“I felt very strongly there must be a better way to do things and this was something that I could do.
“It is a real privilege to be allowed into peoples’ lives at such a sensitive time, and we all become a team working together – not just the clinical staff, but the people who come to us as patients and their relatives and their friends.
“And also on the frontline are the catering and housekeeping staff, and behind the scenes administration and fundraising, all helping to keep St Luke’s running smoothly.
“We know there are more people needing the sort of palliative care that St Luke’s provides than we can accommodate here.
“A lot of people will want to stay in their own homes, so together with the education team, we help the staff in the hospitals, care homes and in the community to learn more about symptom management and how to improve care for patients in the advanced stages of their illness.”
If you would like to support Dr Kate’s walk, sponsor her here http://www.justgiving.com/Kate-Smith30
You can sign up for St Luke’s Midnight Walk at www.midnightwalk.co.uk
yes hope everyone who sees this does sign up ,because Doctor Kate is a one -in -MILLON .