Covid survivor Mark Stocks completed a five-mile walk for charity on Bank Holiday Monday which raised more than £1,000 for Hinchingbrooke Hospital.
Mark, 47, was cheered on by friends and family as he reached the finish line at Hinchingbrooke Hospital hospital after the six-and-a-half-hour walk, which started in St Ives.
He has raised more than £1,205 for the hospital with the help of his friends, collecting £280 yesterday and £925 on their Just Giving page.
The Huntingdon carer, started his walk at 10am on Monday at the Waitrose car park in St Ives.
He then walked up through Houghton, visiting a few pubs for water and to collect donations, along the way such as Three Horseshoes in Houghton, King of the Belgians in Hartford, Three Tuns, The Falcon Tavern and The George Inn, all in Huntingdon.
After finishing the walk at Hinchingbrooke Hospital on Monday, he said: “I feel tired and want to go to bed and I am feeling really emotional right now.”
“It was quite difficult doing the walk, especially coming up the hill, the last bit, however, was better, I had good support, people were cheering us on all the way, and as we entered the pubs, to collect money.
“These guys {his friends] are the heroes not myself, they took the time to collect the money and to support me, making sure everyday I got fit and healthy for the walk.”
Friends of Mark are pictured in fancy dress and walked with him including Chris Marriott, Mark Rouse, Yanni Newton, Lisa Hooper, Dean Burrows, Robert Dobriak-Solovyev, Heather Archer and Graham Hillman.
In May this year Mark was given a 50/50 chance of surviving Covid-19 after he was admitted to intensive care at Hinchingbrooke Hospital.
He is now recovering from coronavirus and wanted to thank Hinchingbrooke Hospital staff who cared for him, by raising money for them.
Mark also wanted to thank the Aladdin’s Cave in Godmanchester who donated costumes to them and the fishing tackle shop in Godmanchester who made a plaque in memory of people who had lost their lives to Covid-19.
Mark hopes in November the plaque will be planted with a tree at Hinchingbrooke Park.
To donate to Mark’s cause visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/marks-hinchingbrooke-hospital-walk.
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