Sarah was the sort of person who loved to chat. In any situation, she’d always be able to find someone to talk to and brighten the atmosphere. A true social magnet. This natural ability was one of her many great qualities and something she found invaluable in her job as a highflying accountant in London. Even though she wasn’t really keen on the sport, she’d often say that she wanted to take up golf, as out on the course is where a lot of business deals are done! Ambition and determination were two of Sarah’s other great characteristics. When she set her mind on achieving something, not much could stand in her way.
These qualities and the whole of Sarah’s personality were really put to the test when her whole life was turned upside down. On 1st Feb 2006, Sarah was found collapsed at work with no recollection of what had happened. After being taken to St Thomas’ Hospital, London, and undergoing scans they found that she had had an epileptic fit. This was something that shocked us all, as she’d had no history of epilepsy but nothing could prepare us for what really had caused the seizure. We stood there in disbelief as the doctor explained that Sarah had a tumour in her brain. It took just a second for us all to burst into tears.
Sarah was soon transferred to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery where a biopsy allowed the doctors to tell us more about what Sarah was facing. Due to the location of the brain tumour, the movement down the left hand side of her body was impaired and initially she found simply walking difficult. We were even more shocked when the advice from the hospital was to merely go home while they ‘watch and wait’.
In typical Sarah style, her positive spirit shone through, as she made it clear that this condition wasn’t going to beat her that easily. Despite going through surgery, including an awake craniotomy, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, she always managed to face the world with a smile and her vibrant personality. The physical difficulties she faced meant even everyday things were a struggle. So many people who met her were amazed at the way she managed to stay focused on living her life to the full. We soon became involved with SDBTT and started to work on ways that we could raise money towards fighting this disease. Sarah herself spent days sending out letters to local companies and organisations to raise awareness of the charity and their work.
Sarah made sure that the ambitions she set herself in her life would not be out of her reach. This was truly evident in the way she planned and enjoyed her dream wedding and honeymoon. When obstacles were put in front of her, she saw them as challenges to be conquered. When her doctors predicted that she would never return to work, she was determined to prove them wrong and did return both to her career and a voluntary job at the local hospital.
Needless to say, we were totally devastated when, after 4 years of living with this terrible condition, Sarah lost her battle with the disease on 3rd March 2010. Even to the end, Sarah was able to leave a lasting impression on the nurses that cared for her in her final days. She was our towering strength and guiding light. We miss her so much every day.
We have started this group in Sarah’s memory to keep her positive attitude alive and also to help raise vital money for SDBTT to fund research projects, innovative new treatments & patient support. We have many activities planned – both enjoyable and challenging – involving sponsored walks and runs, an annual summer ball, charity sports events and a planned ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro next year.
If you would like to contact us about the fundraising activities we are currently working on, please email us at sarahkitchenerperrowfund@hotmail.co.uk.
SDBTT Sarah Kitchener Perrow Fund Events 2011
We have been continuing to come to terms with the devastating loss of our beloved Sarah in March 2010, but have been very busy over the past 12 months raising vital funds in her memory for the SDBTT. We have organised a wide variety of events over the past year and the generosity of our supporters has been truly humbling considering the difficulties many are facing in the UK economy. Here is a run-down of some of the fundraising events we ran in 2011.
Kilimanjaro Climb May/June 2011
At 5895m, Mt Kilimanjaro is the highest freestanding mountain in the world. Our 15 strong team (including Sarah’s father, brother & husband) travelled out to Tanzania on 27th May to hike the Rongai route which is 1 of the 7 recognised routes to the summit. The key phrase we had to remember was “pole-pole”, which is Swahili for “slowly slowly”. The reason for this is that ascending at a slow pace is the main way to prevent being struck by the effects of high altitude. Ascending too quickly can have very serious consequences, potentially fatally in the most extreme cases. We were very careful to follow the advice of our guides and stick to the pace they set. We walked for between 4-5 hours each day accumulating about 700m of altitude. Each night was spent camping out under the stars on the mountain. Our guide team did everything they could to make us as comfortable as possible. A cup of tea and a bowl of hot water to wash was a welcome touch each morning. As you can imagine, the toilet facilities were very basic!
While each of the first 4 days were fairly comfortable in terms of physical fitness required, we knew that everything was leading up to the last push to the summit. On the Wednesday night/Thursday morning, we woke at midnight to start the final leg of the ascent to the summit. The temperature was approx -10°C so had to make sure we were wearing plenty of layers. With only the light of a head torch to guide us, we snaked our way up, often stumbling and sliding on the scree below us. After 7 tough hours we finally made it to Uhuru peak at 5895m above sea-level. The initial view we had was incredible as the sun was just starting to rise, giving an orange glow to the horizon. Unfortunately the guides were not keen for us to stay at the summit for too long as some of our group were starting to show symptoms of altitude sickness. There was just enough time for a few photos to prove to everyone back in the UK that we made it.
Our initial fundraising target was £10,000 but I’m really pleased to say that with the added support of several of the teams employers through matched funding schemes, we smashed that target raising over £26,000 by the end of 2011. We’d like to thank everyone who took part in the climb and all those that donated sponsorship to us for the SDBTT Sarah Kitchener Perrow Fund.
2nd Annual Charity Ball – July
Following on from the success of the first ball in 2010, we organised a fun filled night of entertainment for over 200 guests at the Stock Brook Manor Golf and Country Club. The theme of the night was James Bond 007 and the guests were given the chance to step into Daniel Craig’s shoes at Casino Royale by playing the fun blackjack and roulette tables. Guests were also treated to a 3 course meal, prize raffle, auction and a special choreographed Ceroc dance by Sarah’s friend Cheryl Dickenson and her partner Craig Archer. Guests partied into the night with a local DJ.
We were lucky enough to be joined for the night by Sarah Lindsell (CEO of SDBTT) and her partner where we presented her with a cheque for over £7,700 in funds raised on the night.
Barleylands Charity Fun Walk
John Baron MP for Billericay and Wickford has been supporting local charities & organisations for the past 11 years by holding an annual fun walk around the Barleylands Farm site. This gives any participants a chance to raise money for local causes and then the Fun Walk team will match the amount raised from the corporate sponsorship donated by many local businesses. In 2011, the SDBTT Sarah Kitchener Perrow Fund had 20 people take part in this event raising a fantastic total of £2,655. Our thanks goes out to all those who took part.
Charity Dog Show
Sarah’s cousin Gemma Simmons and partner Dave, who are both keen dog show participants with their Alsatian Beth, organised a Charity Dog show in July 2011 in West Malling, Kent to raise money for both the SDBTT and the Kennel Club. The show attracted over 100 dogs of many breeds and pedigrees with prizes for winners in various categories including a fancy dress competition for both dogs and owners. We sold a selection of home-made cakes and ran a stall to promote the vital work of the SDBTT and Sarah’s story. The day was such a success that they are planning on organising another show for 2012. They raised over £1500 for the SDBTT.
Fashion Show
The SDBTT Sarah Kitchener Perrow Fund were able to link up with the Wickford branch of the clothing retailer M&Co to hold a Charity Fashion show in Sept 2011. The evening featured volunteers of all ages to model the latest range of fashions in the store. We also ran a raffle and sold refreshments. All those that attended the event were given a discount voucher to use in store. A massive thank you goes to Frankie Lomas and her team for supporting us in raising £570 at this event.
Dominos Pizza week
Building on last years successful relationship with Vision 10 & Paul Ashurst (franchise holder for several Dominos Pizza outlets in local area), they ran an initiative to donate 50p to the Sarah Kitchener Perrow Fund for every pizza sold in the Wickford branch over a week in July. Along with very generous from the company, they raised a total of £ 1443.
Other events
Charity Football Match – raised £541
Charity Golf Day – raised £591
Wickford & Runwell history day – raised £362
Brain Tumour awareness month, Carillion @ Colchester General Hospital, 10p for every Tea/Coffee sold in March – raised £416
Bromfords School (Sarah’s secondary school) – nominated charity for 2011 – raised £1500
Donation from The Bank Of England – £500
Planned Events for 2012
Ladies Pamper evening, Bromfords School, Wickford – 27th January 2012
Charity Sky Dive – March 2012
5 participants taking part in the Reading Half Marathon – 1st April 2012
Barleylands Fun Walk – 27th May 2012
Charity Dog Show – 14th July 2012
3rd Annual Charity Ball – 21st July 2012
SDBTT Sarah Kitchener Perrow Fund Charity Football Match
On Saturday 12th June 2010, we held a Charity Football Match in memory of Sarah Kitchener Perrow at Runwell Sports and Social Club, Essex. The match was a hard fought contest, with Ramsden F.C. eventually beating Runwell and Bromfords Reunion 2-0.
Over 100 people turned out for a great day of sunshine and sport, followed by a charity raffle draw and the England World Cup game versus USA shown on a big screen. Although the result wasn’t great for England, we managed to raise a huge £1,205.14 for the Sarah Kitchener Perrow Fund.
We would like to thank everyone who helped this event to be such a great success!
SDBTT Sarah Kitchener Perrow Fund Charity Ball
- SDBTT Sarah Kitchener Perrow Fund members proudly present a cheque for £9,639.86 to SDBTT founders Neil and Angela Dickson
On Friday 23rd July, the SDBTT Sarah Kitchener Perrow Fund held their first annual Charity Ball at Stock Brook Country Club, near Billericay. The black tie ball was attended by over 200 guests who enjoyed a delicious three course meal and various entertainment throughout the evening.
Guests were greeted with a champagne reception, wowed by the table magician and treated to the beautiful voice of Cassie Barnard-Hallows, before they partied the night away with a disco. During the course of the event a charity raffle prize draw was held along with a very competitive charity auction, which drew many high bidders!
After a great evening, the Sarah Kitchener Perrow Fund team was delighted to announce that the total raised by them from events in 2010 (so far) was £9,639.86!
SDBTT Sarah Kitchener Perrow Fund Charity Golf Day
As part of our continued commitment to raising funds for the SDBTT Sarah Kitchener Perrow Fund, Chris Hughes and Peter Kitchener held a Charity Golf Day at Langdon Hills Golf Club on Friday 27th August.
With over 50 golfers participating in the day, competition to be on the winning team was fierce, with the top three teams separated by only a few points. The victorious team were Barry Piddington, Dennis Mays, Daniel Vaughan and Ian Gordon of Buirstead Golf Club, who celebrated with a Magnum of Veuve Cliquot champagne, a complimentary round of golf for four and of course the all-important winners trophy!
Over the course of the day, the event managed to raise a wonderful £1,615 for the Sarah Kitchener Perrow fund, so thank you very much to Chris Hughes and everyone who took part.