Experienced firewalker Mark Baker, who organises firewalking events, crossed barefoot over 150 feet of 700°C burning coals to raise £1,250 for Laura Cafferty (34), who has been diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer.
Mr Baker said he decided to get involved in fundraising for Mrs Cafferty after reading a JEP article about her diagnosis.
The firewalk took place on Easter Saturday in the Lower Park and was attended by a crowd of local supporters, despite the bad weather. Mr Baker added that he was delighted to have successfully completed the firewalk having only done a ‘minimal amount of damage’ to his feet.
Mrs Cafferty, who is originally from Ireland, was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma – a form of soft-tissue cancer which only affects six in one million women – after a tumour was found in her leg last March. Doctors have told her that ‘if she is lucky’ she has just two years to live and there is no further treatment available on the NHS.
Mrs Cafferty’s friends and family are trying to raise around £134,000 to help pay for her to undergo alternative treatments at specialist centres in Germany, Mexico and America. Anyone who would like to can make a donation online at JustGiving.com.
