Fairies to Fishes charity walk beat target before the start
A CANCER sufferer surpassed his fundraising target before he had even walked his first step in his Fairies to Fishes sponsored walk on Saturday.
Trevor Mahy, 65, has been battling cancer since early last year and has been having chemotherapy treatment every 10 days.
He arranged the walk from the Fairy Ring to the Aquarium to raise money for the Guernsey Society for Cancer Relief and to help those who have helped him over the past 18 months.
He was joined at the start line at 7.40 on Saturday morning by his daughter, Marcia Bale, and around a dozen people, with others joining the group over the course of the day,
Mr Mahy was delighted with the support and had reached his 10am stop-off point on schedule.
‘In truth I feel very well indeed. I can walk without getting out of breath and there’s nothing stopping me from doing this,’ he said.
‘I have walked the course in four sections just to get an idea of the pace and the terrain for myself and anyone else who wants to join in.’
Mrs Bale said she saw her father as a real inspiration for others with a similar diagnosis.
‘The reason he has drummed up so much support is that people can relate to him,’ she said. ‘So many families on the island have gone through what he has.
‘But he has shown everyone that when you get a diagnosis, you don’t have to depress over it, it doesn’t have to be a life sentence, you can do something positive.’
She said the initial fundraising target was £1,250, however they had reached £1,400 before they had even started, with more donations to come in for her father and the others on the walk.
‘It could end around £3,000, which would be fantastic,’ she said.
The whole family had got involved in the walk in some way, she added, with her sister-in-law, Lindsay Mahy, producing the donation forms.
Guernsey Society for Cancer Relief chairman Peter Atkinson said Mr Mahy had shown a clear willingness to help others with cancer.
‘What he’s doing is tremendous, given that he is still suffering from cancer, and he deserves every support in his walk around the island,’ he said.
‘We raise money to support cancer sufferers and their families and we are really lucky to have the support of people like Trevor.’
n You can donate in support of Trevor via his JustGiving page, https://bit.ly/2zb4qyT.
