Sally Evans is part of Team Acorns for the 2019 London Marathon. A physiotherapist at Acorns for the Three Counties, she not only sees the vital care and support Acorns offers children and families but helps to provide it.
Here she tells her story…
I’ve been working in the community with children for 17 years and I knew some children went to Acorns. When I realised Acorns had physiotherapists, I knew it was something I wanted to do.
I didn’t realise that hospices were such positive places. I think the word hospice, to me before, was more about dying.
Somewhere that people were cared for when they were at the end of life.
But it’s not about the end of life, most of the time, it’s about the living; doing positive things while you’re living and main the most of your life. I think the support that we provide the families and the children during their lives is just amazing.
I was lucky enough to be offered a place in this year’s London Marathon running for Acorns. I’m really excited because I really wanted to run in the marathon and to run it for Acorns is an honour.
I get to spread the word about Acorns and the work they do, and I’ll also be doing lots of fundraising.
I have a target of £2,500, which feels quite high, but I am doing well so far. I still have a way to go so if anyone could sponsor me that would be fantastic!
I’ve been doing okay with the training, I’ve been stepping it up. The last couple of miles can be pretty painful and I sometimes have to drag myself along a bit.
But then when I think about the pain I’m experiencing I think it’s nothing in comparison to the pain our children or our young people are experiencing and also what their parents are going through.
That’s really going to drive me on when I’m running those miles, I’ll just think of all the different children that Acorns help, that’ll really spur me on to the end.
