An NHS worker is set to battle not just the elements and the heady heights of Mount Snowdon but also his own debilitating illness in order to help raise money for the homeless.
Martin Daker, part of the Informatics team at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, is taking part in a sponsored walk up Snowdon on behalf of Your Trust Charity and the Trust’s Homeless Pathway Team later this month. Martin suffers from Sarcoidosis, a condition that affects his lungs that leaves them with only 50 per cent of ‘normal’ capacity for a person of his age. The thought of tackling Snowdon again never occurred to Martin until a friend asked him to join in and he was reminded of doing it back when he was younger and healthier. Although still able to walk reasonable distances and even jog a little, Martin has had to undergo training – including breathing exercises – to condition himself as much as possible.
Martin said: “I’m classed as ‘Clinically Extremely Vulnerable’ from coronavirus so I’ve shielded for most of the past 17 months. Like many others, I started to put weight on initially and didn’t exercise that much, but then realised that I needed get healthier to improve my chances if I did catch COVID-19; so it was back to the consultant’s common-sense advice. I’m also very grateful to the NHS and our Trust in particular in that I received both vaccine doses quite early in the vaccination programme. That has allowed a lot of normality back into my life and the ability to go out and do something like this Snowdon challenge.”
Helen Taylor, Lead Nurse for the Homeless Patient Pathway Team said: “I couldn’t be more grateful to Martin Daker and his team for what they are doing for the homeless. This is not just any hike up Snowdonia, this is being done by a Trust staff member with his own additional health issues with reduced lung capacity which makes this charity event even more heroic! The Homeless Patient Pathway Team rely heavily on gestures of goodwill donations and this event that Martin is leading will see our homeless patients benefit from the charity proceeds.”
Martin is also planning to take ‘remote working’ a lot farther than the Trust originally intended – by hosting a meeting on top of the mountain itself!
“In Informatics, we have regular department-wide Keep in Touch (KiT) calls as there a number of us who work from home so it’s a great way for colleagues to maintain contact with each other, share news etc. Having one from the summit of Snowdon is a fun way of demonstrating the capability and flexibility of the technology that the Informatics supports – even in the great outdoors!”
Martin is set to make his ascent on August 12. You can donate towards Martin’s efforts at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/SWBNHSTrustSnowdonWalk12Aug21.