Inpatient Unit (IPU) Nurse Siobhan Goodwin is undertaking a 500-mile virtual challenge from St Wilfrid’s to Glasgow to raise funds for us. Read on to find out why she’s doing it, in her own words.

I have worked on IPU as a Nurse for the past 10 years but in 2020 the hospice became much more than just my place of work. I got to experience the hospice, and more specifically the IPU, from a more personal viewpoint as this was where my Dad Graham spent his last few weeks of life.

Whilst there, Dad got to do things he would not have been able to if he stayed in hospital or been elsewhere. He got to spend precious time with family and friends, many of which he had not seen for some time as they lived in Glasgow and Egremont, Cumbria.

This is what gave me the idea to do a virtual walk to raise much-needed funds for the hospice. I plan to walk, run and cycle 500 miles between February and 21st July, on what would have been Dad’s 61st birthday.

Five hundred miles is the distance between the three places that held a special place in my Dad’s heart. He was born in Glasgow in 1963 then spent much of his life in Egremont before moving to Eastbourne in 2004 and eventually spending his last weeks in St Wilfrid’s Hospice.

The total distance being 500 miles also has an amusing significance. Anyone who knew my Dad knew how much of a joker he was and how much he disliked the song ‘500 miles’ by The Proclaimers. So, the fact that I get to promote the fundraiser in his honour by playing this song is like one more practical joke I get to play on him.

If you would like to make a donation, visit JustGiving.com and search for Siobhan’s fundraiser for St Wilfrid’s Hospice (Eastbourne) Ltd.

Pictured right: Siobhan