A DENTON man has raised thousands of pounds after walking more than 450 miles to raise money for the hospice that helped his late daughter.
Peter Scanlon spent 34 days traversing the Camino de Santiago – a network of ancient pilgrim routes from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the south-west of France to Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain.
He has so far raised more than £4,500 for Francis House Children’s Hospice, who cared for Niamh until her death last year, aged 15.
And the heavy rain and blistered feet, along with sleeping in the most basic accommodation – including dormitories with up to 40 people sharing 20 bunkbeds, are worth it.
Peter, 54, said: “Francis House did so much for Niamh during her life and when she passed away, we had the option to take her there by ambulance.
“We had a safe place to go with Niamh, so we want to ensure that there is always a place like Francis House for other families.
“If we didn’t have Francis House, we would be in a right mess now.
“I still would have struggled with Niamh’s death, and I still struggle with it, but not half as much as I would if it hadn’t ended so peacefully because of Francis House’s care and compassion.
“That’s why I really wanted to do the Camino for the hospice. The way the staff treated us just made it so easy.
“Sometimes there was just a mat on the floor for a bed and you got a hot shower if you were lucky. You would get up in the morning put your rucksack on and get going again.
“You have to be mentally tough as well as physically fit which I wasn’t. You are up and down, you laugh, you cry. I was praying quite a lot of the time, especially for my sister-in-law, who has cancer.
“But there was always somebody walking up behind you and they would ask if you were okay and it is like a problem shared.”
When Niamh was only 18-months-old, she started to show loss of her abilities as her development slowed down.
She was diagnosed with metachromatic leukodystrophy late infantile form, a condition that affects the brain and nervous system, and was given a life expectancy of five-years-old.
Eighteen months after her death, Peter decided the perfect time to walk in memory of Niamh would be in the six weeks between older sister Isabel’s birthday in September and her birthday in November.
Wife Claire, a Residential Support Worker for the Seashell Trust, wanted to give something back to the children’s hospice in Manchester that had supported them and cared for Niamh.
The 49-year-old said: “Through bereavement care, Francis House just comes into its own. Like the Camino journey, grief is a journey, there are highs and lows in dealing with grief.
“I thought he was bonkers, but I understood why he needed to go. At more than 450 miles when the most he has ever walked is ten miles in a day, I just hoped his feet would last the journey.”
The pilgrimage route took Peter through many medieval towns and villages, beautiful landscapes, sunrises, and sunsets.
Having self-funded the trip of travel and flights plus 50 Euros a day spent on food, plasters, and nightly accommodation, the refrigeration and air conditioning engineer added: “Everyone was missing their families and so you all become like a family unit.
“It was lovely the way that everyone bonded together, not hearing a bad word said by anybody for six weeks.
“My feet were in a bad way for a while but on the way, people try and help you.
“It’s not a lonely walk, as there are lots of other people walking the Camino at the same time who you keep bumping into, but you do have time to walk with your own thoughts.
“At Cruz de Ferro in northern Spain there is a cross at the top of a hill where people leave a stone with all their worries and everything they want to leave behind on the Camino.
“In lockdown, Claire and I decorated a stone with Niamh, and I wanted to leave it there as the reason I was doing the pilgrimage. That was a really big moment for me leaving the stone there.
“Arriving in Santiago de Compostela was just part of the journey. Niamh was with me throughout, we talked to each other along the way, and it was a reflection on Niamh, Isabel, Claire’s, and my life, and where we are going after this.
“Asking Niamh to help us make the right decisions. We still need her even though she’s not physically with us.”
Francis House cares for more than 550 families of children and young people with life-limiting conditions.
In addition to respite care, the hospice provides a range of services including homecare, sibling support and end of life care and bereavement support.
Since Niamh’s illness, the couple have been fundraising for Francis House.
In the summer, a fundraiser in Niamh’s memory was held at St Mary and St John Fisher Parish in Denton which raised more than £2,000.
Claire remained in the UK working shifts for The Seashell Trust – a residential school in Cheadle for children with complex learning disabilities and additional communication needs.
And after six weeks apart, there was no time for a grand reunion, she had 45 minutes before heading to work!
She said: “It was quite lonely spending six weeks on my own.
“But when he came back, we had a speedy beans on toast and a quick catch up. He looked like Forrest Gump with his long grey beard.
“He was overweight when he left and had lost about a stone-and-a-half.
“I am pleased to have him back and immensely proud of him. I am amazed at what he has achieved. I couldn’t have done it.
“We appreciate the running costs of Francis House with only a small proportion coming from the government, for all that we have had, we just wanted to give back to show our appreciation.”
A few days later, on November 5 – what would have been Niamh’s 17th birthday, Claire, Peter, and Isabel went to visit her grave.
To support Peter in his fundraising visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/peter-scanlon5