Banff woman goes the extra mile to raise money for charity Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland
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A BANFF woman has successfully completed a six-week-long charity challenge.
Sharon Mottram covered around 177 miles in her wheelchair from March 31 until May 12 to raise money for Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland (SBH Scotland).
Sharon (52) lives with both Spina Bifida and Fibromyalgia and travelled between six and nine miles each day to raise money for the charity that has supported her over the past few years.
Sharon said: "SBH Scotland are an amazing charity and I wanted to do something to support them.
"I became a member of the charity four years ago. Before then my comfort zone was my best friend but they helped me to start challenging myself. I'm a totally different person now.
"They do awesome work on a daily basis, providing help and support for their members and their families from babies up to adulthood, they go above and beyond with all manor of different things. If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be where I am now. They've helped me so much and the tools and support they've given me has been life-changing."
Over six weeks, Sharon travelled on walking trails all over Banff, making her way to Whitehills, Portsoy and other coastal routes in the area.
At times, the impact of her health and the weather made completing the challenge more difficult. After the third week Sharon was exhausted and began to struggle so friends Sarah-Louise Westwood and Nathan Fieldhouse, along with son Haydn, stepped in to support Sharon while she took a rest day to ensure she would still complete the challenge.
Sharon said: "It made such a difference having the help from my friends and from Haydn. It was so cold especially in the first few weeks. Sometimes it was absolutely freezing and the weather was so miserable, so having them there made such a difference."
Sharon has now raised around £680 for the charity. She had initially hoped to do a skydive but due to her health was unable to do so. However, she's thrilled with her efforts to support SBH Scotland and her fundraising has been more successful than she ever expected, receiving donations from local businesses in the area including The Spotty Bag Shop, The Home Bakery and Bridge Carpets.
"Now that I think about it, it was an absolutely crazy idea but I'm so proud I did it," she said.
"There were some proper hairy moments. I was tired and in pain sometimes but I really really enjoyed doing it and I met some fantastic people with some total strangers even giving me donations when I was out and about.
"I'm still absolutely knackered now to be honest, but all in all I absolutely loved it."
fundraiser link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sharon-mottram
