Hailsham resident Kerry Knight is taking on a five-day walking challenge in honour of her husband Shawn, who died of kidney cancer in 2017. She will be starting at 5.55am each day from the Lansdowne Hotel in Eastbourne and is hoping to bring her fundraising total for St Wilfrid’s Hospice to £5,000.

‘The number five has been significant this year,’ says Kerry. ‘We’ve recently marked our fifth year without Shawn, and I’ll be celebrating my 51st birthday on the 5th April 2023. Shawn never got to celebrate his 50th birthday, so I want to end my 50th year doing something meaningful.’

Shawn, who was just 49 when he was died, spent his last few days at St Wilfrid’s Hospice in Eastbourne. ‘He was surrounded by his family and enveloped in love,’ says Kerry.

‘I cannot express enough to you the comfort this wonderful place gave our family. We instantly felt like we were in safe hands; that feeling of the weight being lifted from my shoulders on the morning of his arrival will stay with me forever. Shawn was shown such love and dignity, nothing was too much trouble.’

Kerry and her family have raised £4,700 for St Wilfrid’s since Shawn’s death and she is aiming to get that figure over £5,000. ‘None of us know what life has in store and we don’t like to think that one day we may need the hospice. But this amazing place, with all its wonderful staff, are exactly what we need if that’s how our story unfolds. Which is why I am so passionate about raising money for them.’

Kerry will be walking every day from 1^st to 5^th April, setting off at 5.55am from the Lansdowne Hotel and walking as far as she can each day. To follow Kerry’s progress and support her sunrise walking challenge go to: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kerry-knight9