Mum Sally Hurman abseils Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower for blood cancer charity DKMS
A mum abseiled down the Spinnaker Tower to raise money for a blood cancer charity that are supporting her husband who is battling the disease.
Social media influencer Sally Hurman, 49 – known as Getting Stuff Done in Heels – completed the challenge to raise money for DKMS – a national charity that support families dealing with cancers such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma.
The mum of three embarked on a two year quest to raise money for the charity after husband, Gavin, was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2018.
Sally, from Surrey, said: ‘I really wanted to do something special to mark Blood Cancer Awareness Month. It’s such an important date for people with blood cancer and for DKMS.
‘A few years ago I’d have never considered myself a daredevil, but after seeing the bravery shown by Gavin and others with blood cancer, finding the guts to abseil the Spinnaker Tower didn’t seem like such a tall order.’
After completing the 170-metre drop, Sally added: ‘If I’m honest I was both terrified and excited at the same time. I don’t recall much of the beautiful harbour because my eyes were closed a lot of the time, but I drew strength from the thousands of blood cancer patients fighting for a second chance of life.’
One of the charity’s roles is to locate and match stem cell donors which can potentially save lives. DKMS has registered nearly 10 million potential blood stem cell donors worldwide, including 697,000 in the UK, and has helped to provide 1,130 people with a donor.
Sally said: ‘I’m donating all funds to DKMS because they do such important work registering donors.’
Caroline Richardson, head of fundraising at DKMS, added: ‘So many charities have taken a huge hit in terms of their income this year due to the pandemic.
‘We’re thrilled Sally has continued to raise vital funds for DKMS. She’s a great ambassador for our cause and demonstrates that people can get involved with DKMS in several ways, whether it’s signing up to be a lifesaver-in-waiting or volunteering and fundraising for our lifesaving work.’
Sally has so far raised over £11,000. You can donate to the cause by going to her JustGiving page.