Category: Challenge Series

Playing basketball means Monika Pollard is always reaching for heights.

But climbing to Everest base camp was a different ball game altogether.

Monika, who owns Tiny Adventures children’s day nursery in Macclesfield, was fundraising for East Cheshire Hospice.

The trip was in memory of her mother-in-law Theresa Connolly who died almost 10 years ago, aged 73.

Monika, a keen hiker, had always wanted to undertake an Everest expedition, though her adventure was more eventful than planned.

Monika Pollard on her Everest climb.

She said: “We were supposed to fly to Lukla, the second most dangerous airport in the world, but it was closed due to bad weather.

“Instead, we drove through Nepal in a jeep for more than 24 hours and then slept for barely three hours before a 12-hour walk on the first day.

“It meant we were thrown in at the deep end, adding a further 30 kilometres to our walk which was 140k altogether.

“It took us 10 days to get to base camp where I suffered terrible altitude sickness. So much so I felt like I was drunk.

Mission accomplished … Monika at base camp.

“I was with two other girls and it was so bad that on the way down we got a helicopter ride back to Katmandu.

“The hike was much harder than anticipated. I’m physically fit, but I struggled breathing as the air was so thin.

“No one prepares for you how difficult it is mentally. At first, I said I’d never do it again, but if someone asked me I’d return.

“Walking is not a problem for me. I play basketball and am physically fit.”

Monika is a member of the Macc Town Raiders and Congleton Grizzlies basketball teams.

Monika with fellow climbers.

Team-mates have supported her fundraising which has reached £1,584. Husband Kevin works for the London Stock Exchange which may match fund the total.

Monika, from Slovakia, has also put collection buckets at her two nurseries and the Hospice charity shop at Thornton Square.

She said: “I decided to raise funds for Hospice because we live in Macclesfield and all our friends are here. I had a wonderful relationship with my mother-in-law who was devoted to her four granddaughters.

Monika enjoying the view.

“She was supposed to go into a hospice near her home in Burnley, but didn’t live long enough due to her oesophageal cancer.

“Hospices wouldn’t exist without fundraising and they provide palliative care at the time of greatest need.”

* To donate visit justgiving.com/page/monika-pollard-1679060855262

Running has been the best medicine for Dr Kate Parker after losing her husband John four years ago.

Pounding the streets has seen Kate raise more than £8,000 for East Cheshire Hospice where he spent his final days.

John, an apprentice jeweller, died from bowel cancer aged 41, two years after diagnosis.

Kate, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, said: “I find running has really helped with my grief which is probably why I’ve chosen to do that as a fundraiser.

Dr Kate Parker and late husband John.  

“John and I would run together. He was taller and faster than me, so I couldn’t always keep up with him.

“While he was ill, I found it helped deal with such a difficult diagnosis and managing to look after him.

“The last few months of his life were tough so it helped me cope. Sometimes I’d run along the street crying my eyes out, but I didn’t really care and found it therapeutic.”

John received support from the charity’s Hospice @Home team before he was admitted as an inpatient.

Kate, a Macclesfield resident since 2016, said: “The Hospice were extremely helpful managing his pain during his final days. I don’t think I’d have managed at home.

Kate with daughter Willow after a fundraising run.

“We decided it was probably better he didn’t die at home to avoid leaving memories that would have been difficult to manage for our children.”

Daughters Jess and Hannah were in their early teens when their father died, while sister Willow was 16 months old at the time. She is now five.

Kate said: “I was midway through pregnancy when John was diagnosed. Having a baby while he was undergoing cancer treatment was quite a unique experience though a good distraction for both of us.

“For John and myself to bring up Willow together, even while he was ill, was incredibly special for us.”

Kate has undertaken the last three Manchester 10k runs, the last two with partner Max, a fellow fundraiser. John’s running friends from Poynton were also an inspiration.

Running for charity … Kate and partner Max.

She said: “It’s a no-brainer really. I’m aware the Hospice isn’t funded by the NHS and relies mostly on public money for funding.

“I’m always a bit bemused by that and can’t believe that it’s not properly funded.

“I felt it was more important to fundraise for the Hospice because I can’t imagine how it would have been in those last few days if we had not been able to go there.”