A Colchester mother is set to walk more than 100 miles to raise funds for the hospital which helped save her daughter's life.
Hilary Collins plans to trek the south Devon Coastal Path, a 128-mile journey from Plymouth to Seaton, to benefit Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Hilary's daughter, Ciara Collins-Allen, has been under the care of Great Ormond Street since infancy, after being diagnosed with an unusual birthmark, known as a haemangioma.
Hilary said: "My daughter has an unusual birthmark.
"It came up on her face a couple of weeks after she was born, but we also discovered that she had one in her throat too and she struggled to breathe.
"She was given an operation to laser the birthmark, but it didn’t go to plan, and she ended up in intensive care."
Since then, Ciara has repeatedly returned to the hospital for laser treatments under local anaesthetic as it was considered too dangerous for her to go under general anaesthetic until she was fully grown.
Now aged 17, Ciara underwent major laser treatment under general anaesthetic in April.
Ms Collins said: "We’d waited 17 years for this operation, so it was very stressful, but thankfully everything went to plan.
"Ciara’s journey to resolve her birthmarks has been very long, so I think it’s fitting that my walk to raise vital funds is also a long journey too."
Hilary Collins with daughter Ciara in 2019
In 2018, Ms Collins successfully raised £3,500 for the hospital by walking the Cornish Coastal Path.
Her funds have been instrumental in acquiring new lasers used for her daughter's recent treatment.
The upcoming walk along the south Devon Coast will gather more funds for Great Ormond Street's dermatology unit, which needs thousands of pounds for new lasers.
To support Ms Collins' fundraising efforts, donations can be made at justgiving.com/fundraising/walksouthdevongosh, and her journey can be followed on Instagram via @MumsJourneyofThankstoGOSH.
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