Sponsored walk for Portsmouth couple's fertility fund raises £2,000

NEARLY £2,000 was raised from a sponsored walk to help a couple realise their dream of having children.
By The Newsroom
Published 1st Aug 2016, 06:32 BST
Updated 25th Aug 2016, 16:32 BST

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Friends and family of Amy Callaway and George Bridle, centre, pictured at the start of their sponsored walk to raise IVF funds Picture: Mick Young (161057-02)Friends and family of Amy Callaway and George Bridle, centre, pictured at the start of their sponsored walk to raise IVF funds Picture: Mick Young (161057-02)
Friends and family of Amy Callaway and George Bridle, centre, pictured at the start of their sponsored walk to raise IVF funds Picture: Mick Young (161057-02)

The family and friends of Amy Callaway and George Bridle completed the seven-mile route yesterday, walking from Paulsgrove to Canoe Lake.

The group of 14 dressed in blue and pink and took just over two hours to complete the walk. Amy said they have almost hit the £2,000 mark with their efforts.

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As previously reported in The News, Amy and her fiance George need to raise at least £7,000 to pay for fertility treatment.They were hoping to get it free on the NHS before Amy, 35, was told the heartbreaking news that she was too old for that to happen.

Hospital trusts can have different maximum age limits for free treatment and at their local fertility centre Princess Anne Hospital, in Southampton, the limit is 35.

Amy said: ‘The walk was fantastic. It was really good.

‘It was tiring at certain parts but it went really well. It was great to have the support from all the family. We had all ages taking part so everyone came together for us.

‘We worked out it was about 18,000 steps that we did and we were happy with the time we did it in. The weather was nice which helped, although it was very hot at one point.

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‘It was good fun though. When we got to the end we started speeding up a bit as we were so close. The half-way mark was probably the hardest point but we all pushed on and finished.’

All 14 people taking part raised at least £100 each with others doing extra exercise at Canoe Lake to get more cash.

George, from Wymering, added: ‘We are so happy with how the fundraising went.

‘It has got us off to a good start. Everyone really got into the fundraising for us and it is fantastic to see nearly £2,000 raised.’

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The family are hoping to do more fundraisers in the future to reach the £10,000 target that has been set.

The treatment will cost £7,000 for one try if Amy and George go with the NHS.

But if they go private they can have three rounds of IVF for £10,000 and if it is unsuccessful, they get some of their money back.

Amy’s mum Chris said: ‘We have lots of ideas in the pipeline to help get more money.

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‘We want to do a family fun day so we are sorting that out at the moment.

‘There is lots we want to do but it is about organising it.’

Anyone wanting to make a donation should visit crowdfunding.justgiving.com/amy-callaway.

Related topics:PortsmouthNHSPaulsgrove