Last year s Grotto at Otter Garden Centre. Picture: Contributed
- Credit: Archant
Team members at Otter Garden Centre in Ottery St Mary are rallying round with a seasonal fundraiser in memory of their colleague Rob Gillingham.
Sadly Rob, described by colleagues as a kind, lovely man, passed away from a brain tumour earlier this year.
He was well known for his annual stint as the popular Santa Express driver, ferrying families to and from the garden centre’s popular grotto.
The idea for the fundraiser came from Helen Patterson, who worked at the grotto as an elf! Helen also had a brain tumour which was removed in 2017, leaving her with a titanium plate in her skull and an eyelid that won’t open. Helen’s plan is to cycle from Exeter to the garden centre in Ottery dressed as an elf to raise money for Brain Tumour Support and Alzheimer’s Society.
LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff
Kate Coatsworth, 34, was diagnosed in 2019 with stage 4 brain cancer. After finishing chemo in May, the Thames woman is walking the Te Araroa Trail to raise awareness of a ‘forgotten’ cancer.
After spending the past 100-odd days walking the length of the North Island, Kate Coatsworth is looking forward to putting her feet up for a while and letting her blisters heal. On September 7, just four months after finishing treatment for stage 4 glioblastoma multiforme – the deadliest form of brain cancer – the 34-year-old set off to traverse the Te Araroa Trail, from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Three months and 1695km later, Coatsworth is drawing the North Island leg to a close in Wellington on Saturday, walking the last nine kilometres of the trail alongside Health Minister Andrew Little.
Terminal cancer patient rounds off North Island leg of walk from Cape Reinga to Bluff stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.