Nailsworth family Tara, Matt, their daughter Sophia, and Orla the dog have reached the final leg of their epic 1,200 mile walk from John o’ Groats to Land’s End inspired by their beloved daughter Amelie.
Tara and Matt Zeal’s elder daughter Amelie was aged just 15 when she died in July, four months after her diagnosis with a brain tumour.
Following her funeral, the family set off from John o’ Groats, inspired by Amelie’s sense of adventure and determination. After taking turns walking the length of the country, they’ve now reached the Cornish coast and are just a few days away from Land’s End. They’ve raised more than £23,000 for brain cancer research and a children’s hospice charity. You can support their appeal here.
Amelie’s father Matt Zeal has written this letter about walking, grief and why the charities mean so much to them:
Dear friends, as we learnt in such a painful way, all things must end and we are entering the final days now of our walk. Just four more days until we reach Lands End. We’d like to try and raise as much money as possible for our two chosen charities. Abbie’s Army which funds research towards a cure for the specific brain cancer that Amelie died from and the Acorns Children’s Hospice that eased her and our last few days together. We’re so grateful for any support, and help to spread the word.
Tara, Sophia, Orla and I have taken turns to walk through autumn; starting at the northern most tip of Scotland during those long, hot sunny days and ending now in the depth of winter, the sun still shining but the days short, the wind brisk and the light muted, silver like the sea Amelie loved. We began walking less than two weeks after we buried our precious daughter, when grief was raw and unfiltered by time. Now, five months after her death, the weight of our grief is more familiar, less of a shock each time we wake to it, but still in moments seemingly unbearable.
Amelie and Tara spent many hours during her illness glued to the TV watching ‘Race Across the World’ and fantasising about what adventures they would have when she got better. It was Amelie that inspired this walk having seen someone take up the challenge on tick tock and declaring she wanted to do it as soon as she could. She was in the prime of her young life, fit, strong and fun loving. She would have loved this adventure, dishing out sass and cheer in equal measure. I miss her carefree smile so very very much.
We began walking as a way to keep breathing during a time when nothing made sense anymore and it has gifted us with natural, soul lifting beauty and the kindness of strangers with each step. Life is so unbelievably precious yet so easily squandered to the day to day small worries we waste it on. I just hope I can hold onto this lesson once things return to some semblance of ‘normal’. A few weeks before she died Amelie, sitting in the chair she now found it so hard to get up from, said, dada, ‘I miss your smile’. I’m still searching for it each day and through the tears as I write this.
Confronted by her prognosis, giving her only a few months left to live, Amelie asked Tara and I, ‘what’s the point’? I’m still struggling to answer and the best I can do so far is, to try and spread kindness and not fear; to act a little more consciously and to strive each day to send positive ripples out from each of our clumsy interactions with those around us.
Amelie never gave up, she never stopped caring about her family and friends. If you feel moved to then please donate by following the link below but, more importantly, take a moment to remember how precious life can be and how truly lucky we are. If we can each do this a little bit more then the world will be a kinder, better place.
Matt Zeal
Donations can be made here
