A Weston teenager will walk from Bristol to Weston in memory of his grandfather who was looked after by Weston Hospicecare.
Professional wrestler Oliver Satchwell will walk from Anchor Road in Bristol to the Grand Pier on 26 August in tribute his grandfather John Satchwell, who died at home on 30 May after receiving treatment from the hospice.
John completed the same walk 30 years ago to raise £500 for Bristol’s special care baby unit and now Oliver will follow in John’s footsteps.
Oliver, aged 18, said: “My grandfather has always been my biggest inspiration and always will be.
“My grandfather did this very walk for the special care baby unit and raised over £500 for the charity. I’m doing this to follow in his footsteps and carry on his legacy and make him proud.
“I will be completing the walk on Sunday 26 August, which will be three months after I lost my granddad. So knowing I’ll be doing him proud makes me very happy and content.
“Weston Hospicecare means a lot to me because they looked after my grandfather when he wasn’t well.
“This is also me giving back to them for doing everything they did for my grandfather. I’m hoping to achieve more public appreciation for places like Weston Hospicecare and hopefully, more people will understand how important they are and appreciate them. They all go above and beyond and I have endless amounts of respect for them all.”
John’s widow Caroline Satchwell said: “John was always doing things to raise money for different charities. Oliver was so close to John, and I am so proud of what he is doing.”
Weston Hospicecare relies on support from people such as Oliver to continue to provide its free care services for those with life-limiting illnesses. It costs £4.2million a year to run the hospice, but only 20 per cent of that money is provided by the NHS – the rest must be raised locally.