Karl Bunnell, Radiographer at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, took on the 214 Wainwright peaks in aid of Clatterbridge Cancer Charity.
Karl, who spends his days scanning patients for signs of cancer took a three-month career break last year to raise money for the hospital he loves.
Made infamous in the hiking and fell walking community, the multimillion bestselling ‘Pictorial Guides To The Lakeland Fells’ written by Alfred Wainwright throughout the 1950’s and 60’s details the numerous mountains, fells and hills of the Lake District. This includes 36,000 metres of ascent (7000 metres more than the height of Everest) and approximately 525 Kilometres of hiking
Karl, 39, was inspired to take on the July to October challenge after losing his mum Joan to an undetected heart condition in December 2020, and his dad Bill to a heart attack just two years later in January 2023. The couple met at the old Clatterbridge site in Bebington in 1974 while visiting a mutual friend.
“I’ve worked for The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre Trust for just shy of five years now as a diagnostic radiographer. In that time have personally witnessed seemingly countless incidents of outstanding patient care and professionalism demonstrated by our staff.”
He said the hospital had provided “excellent” love and support following passing of Karl’s parents.
“Knowing that I was valued not just as a member of staff, but a friend and colleague, it made me want to give something back and that started to sow the seeds as to the idea of doing a fundraiser.
Clatterbridge has created an environment whereby patients feel that it is a safe place and that the staff are caring professionals wanting the best for them. This can of course take many forms such as in-depth consultations or as simple as a kind word in passing, just to assure those in our care that we are there for them when they need us and we view them as human beings.
Having been in this environment for as long as I have now, makes me very much want to help support what has been created at Clatterbridge.”
Karl has raised over £3,200 and counting since he set out to take on this incredible challenge!
We can’t thank Karl enough for his amazing support. It’s really special when a member of staff chooses to support our charity in their own time. We are so grateful for everything Karl is doing to raise awareness, and to help fund research, support services and innovations in care at Clatterbridge for those with cancer in our region.
You can watch a trailer about Karl’s challenge below.
