A woman who is registered blind and hard of hearing has pledged to walk 10,000 steps a day throughout March, to raise money for the charity Deafblind UK.
Linda North, who is nearly 70 and from Clacton, enjoyed going to Deafblind UK’s regular local social group, which had to stop when the pandemic hit. Sadly, during lockdown, a friend of Linda’s from the group passed away. With no possibility of celebrating her friend’s life, Linda came up with another way to honour her friend and to give something back to the charity that has supported them both.
“I have always enjoyed walking and I try to keep as fit as possible, so doing 10,000 steps a day throughout March seemed like a good idea. I start every morning with a workout at home, which usually gets my step count up. I then either walk around my garden or, I will walk to the top of my road and back to add some more steps in. When I go out, I rely on the support of others or familiarity of where I’m going. This is a safe route that I know well, but I do take my white cane to help me.” said Linda.
Linda added: “Deafblind UK has always given my husband and I an incredible amount of support, but throughout lockdown we have felt even more well looked after. Someone contacted us regularly to make sure we were OK and had everything we needed. So, I really wanted to do something to say thank you. When I heard the awful news about my friend, this gave me the incentive that I needed! If I can raise some money to not only commemorate her life but also help the charity to support other people who are deafblind then I’ll be happy!”
Rachel Brocklebank from Deafblind UK said: “Deafblindness is combined sight and hearing loss that effects your mobility, communication and access to information. It affects people in so many different ways, from having to make small adjustments at home, to being fully reliant on other people.
“Living with deafblindness can turn everyday activities into a huge challenge. Many people rely on physical contact to do the most basic things, like communicate or go for a walk. It can make life really difficult, so, for Linda to pledge 10,000 steps a day is really impressive.
“It’s been an incredibly tough year for everyone, but for many people who are deafblind, the isolation is likely to continue after lockdown. It’s always an honour when anyone wants to fundraise for us, but even more so when it’s someone who we support. We are extremely grateful to Linda for all her efforts!”
