The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A Spalding police officer who was rescued by an air ambulance is walking more than 60 miles across a desert to raise money for the charity.
Sarah Draper was airlifted to hospital when she fell off her bike on a cycling holiday in Derbyshire in 2011. It was feared she had serious injuries as her bike helmet had split in the impact.
Initially it was also thought she may have had internal injuries as a result of the crash.
She had broken her shoulder and had bad concussion and went on to make a full recovery.
“I was advised at the hospital that had I not been wearing a helmet, I could well have died,” she said.
Sarah (pictured right on another holiday) was full of praise for the crew involved in her rescue.
“The care I received was outstanding and all of the crew were brilliant with me,” she said.
Despite being apprehensive about a trip to hospital in a helicopter, Sarah said everyone involved had been reassuring.
She has now signed-up to walk across the Sahara Desert to raise money for the service.
The 100km (61-mile) trek will take five days and is part of an organised fundraising trip.
She will be heading to Marrakech in September with the group walking from the town of M’Hamid to Ouarzazate.
A group of 20 people will be taking part, including a helicopter paramedic and two ladies who work for the charity.
“I have always wanted to visit Marrackech though and so this is a really exciting opportunity to tick a place off my list whilst, at the same time, raising funds for an excellent local charity.
“I feel really motivated now that I have started fundraising,” said Sarah.
She will be joining the group for training days in the Peak District so they can try their kit and get to know each other before leaving the country.
As part of their trip, they will be watching the spectacle of the sun set from a sand dune called Erg Zaher, which stands 580m tall (1,902 feet).
Sarah said her main concern was sun burn as the daytime temperatures hit 40-degrees in the area they will be walking.
She has a £750 target for the air ambulance and donations can be made via her charity page on the Just Giving website at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/
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