IT was at the edge of the water in Castletownshend that The Southern Star caught up with a man who is taking the long road home to Carrickfergus on the north shore of Belfast Lough.
Lee Colligan began his journey along the Wild Atlantic Way in Kinsale on Sunday May 5th and he expects to be home by July 13th in time for a charity golf event the following day.
That’s a distance of 2,500km over the next 10 weeks for the 35-year-old who loves camping and the outdoors. It’s a love that he shared with his brother, Josh, who died nine months ago at the age of 29.
Lee’s walk is to raise awareness and money for ME, which – to give it its long name – is myalgic encephalomyelitis, otherwise known as chronic fatigue syndrome.
It is a disabling and complex illness. In severe cases, like Josh had, people can be bed bound for years, even decades.
Josh had it for about six years and gradually it got worse. Towards the end, he started vomiting – which was a sign of the severity of the disease – and he was completely bed bound for 18 months.
At the very end, Josh’s quality of life was so bad he refused medical intervention and passed away on August 26th.
Josh had voluntarily stopped eating and drinking, which was devastating for the family.
But Lee said it was a course of action his brother asked them to support.
‘Now we see he is free, no longer trapped, but we miss him every day,’ said Lee, who is raising money for research and support purposes by the Irish ME Association and Action for ME in the UK.
Lee, who took two months off work to complete this journey, said it is entirely self-funded – although some kindly B&B owners are refusing payment, so all the money raised will go to the charity.
Anyone who would like to follow Lee’s progress can do so on Instagram @a_walk_for_m.e and they can find the fundraising links on his website www.awalkforme.com.
