Spring certainly arrived last Sunday and the sun was shining
brightly in Widnes where I attended SAZFEST, a very special day in memory of a
young lady who, by all accounts, certainly shone brightly on all who met her.
Although, sadly, I never had the chance to meet Sara, I have
been extremely privileged to meet and get to know her family; Mum Debbie, Dad
Eamonn, sister Steph and brother Chris.
Our first contact was at the beginning of 2010, a little
less than a year after Sara had died suddenly from Pneumococcal Septicaemia. Sara was only just eighteen when she died and
through my conversations with her family it became obvious that she was a
special person, popular with everyone and somebody who had a real human
touch. This touch came naturally. She always had a smile for people and always
had time for others, particularly if she knew they were struggling in any way.
Back in November Debbie contacted me to say the family wanted to mark
the fifth year since Sara’s death by holding an event to raise money for
charity (luckily we at CBUK would be benefitting from this) and to remember
Sara for the person she was.
And so to Widnes on March 9th where we ran, jogged, walked,
chatted and laughed around six laps of the sports field of the college that
Sara attended. For many it was an
extremely emotional day. Some shed a tear but all paid tribute to a young lady
who had certainly made an impression on everybody there.
After the hard work in the sun we went back to a local club for a
buffet, raffle and entertainment. I’ve
no doubt at all that Debbie and her family were drained by bed time. They put such effort into making the day one
to remember and by making it a day so fitting to Sara.
As well as raising money they also raised awareness of bereavement, a
difficult subject but an important issue that affects us all. I can never fail to be humbled by the
selfless efforts of people like Debbie, Eamonn, Steph and Chris who despite
their own personal tragedies can make such efforts to ultimately help others.
Rich
