A woman completed a 630-mile (1,014-kilometer) trek in commemoration of her brother, who died from meningitis.
Charlotte Bresnahan set off from Minehead in Somerset on September 5 and arrived in Poole on Saturday, World Meningitis Day, after walking the entire South West Coast Path.
In 2010, her brother Ryan, 16, died at his Bristol home an hour after complaining of an unsettled stomach.
“I was looking for something to mark my brother’s 30th birthday, and it felt like a challenge to do the walk in 30 days,” she told me.
Ms Bresnahan has raised approximately £12,500 for A Life For A Cure, a charity founded in memory of Ryan.
The nonprofit funds vaccination research and awareness efforts among students.
It has already raised more than £610,000 for research into the illness.
She stated, “Meningitis can be misdiagnosed as fresher’s flu, therefore awareness campaigns have proven beneficial as new university semesters begin in September.
“All of the tools are there with vaccines now, and it’s just making sure people are aware of the symptoms.”
Meningitis B vaccination was introduced in the UK in 2015.
“I wanted to do something that would include friends and family that have supported us, but also to give myself time for my own thoughts to be close to Ryan,” Mrs. Bresnahan explained.
“The coastal path was the perfect fit, and we walked some of it going on family trips in the past.”
Her walk was supported by Clifton College, where she and Ryan attended, as well as her workplace, Digital Radish.
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