Devoted daughter to trek for life-savers (From Thurrock Gazette)

Devoted daughter to trek for life-savers

3:00pm Saturday 8th September 2012 in News

A DEVOTED daughter is trekking the Grand Canyon and running a series of charity events to raise cash for a specialist hospital unit which helped save her mum’s life.

Sarah Smallbone, 29, from Grays, wants to raise as much money as possible for the St Thomas’ Hospital Lupus Trust Unit, which treated her mum.

Sarah’s mum Carol Smallbone, 64, also from Grays, was diagnosed with lupus in 2009 when she suffered kidney and lung failure and it left Sarah contemplating putting herself up as a potential kidney donor.

Lupus is an incurable immune system illness, probably genetic in origin and mainly suffered by women.

Now, three years on, Carol has recovered and is leading a normal life thanks to the treatment she received at St Thomas’ and Sarah and friend Vicky Rogers, 28, from Canvey, are arranging a big fundraising casino night.

Sarah, who works in a supermarket, said: “Vicky and I are really close and we came up with the idea for the casino night at the pub.

“It’s going to be a really big event and we are putting on dinner with a live band and the casino tables. All the money we raise is going to the lupus trust which goes towards running the unit and the doctors.

“The hospital unit where mum was treated was amazing and that is what then money is going towards.”

Sarah needed to raise £3,500 in sponsorship for the Grand Canyon trip and has already hit the target thanks to friends also doing charity events.

She added: “I will be thinking of mum all the time I am doing the trek, she will be at the forefront of my mind. She is really proud of all the fundraising.”

The casino night is taking place at Cromwell Manor, in Pitsea, on Saturday, September 29, from 7.30pm and tickets are £25 per person.

If you would like to attend, e-mail Sarah on sarahsmallbonelupus@hotmail.com