A beauty salon owner who last year could hardly even walk is setting her sights on a 470km cycle through Vietnam and Cambodia next month.
After recovering from a serious skiing accident in southern France in 2010, Lorraine Fletcher hopes to raise £3,500 for her best friend’s Herts-based charity.
It was friend and ski buddy Debbie Pezzani who called for help when the accident happened.
Lorraine, whose target was given a £500 boost after a Christmas shopping evening at her Redbourn salon Atelier, admits the task is challenging.
“I’d never have believed it if someone, even just last year, had told me I was doing this, never. I could hardly walk,” said the 44-year-old from Leverstock Green.
Lorraine, a mother to four boys, could not walk for nearly four months in 2011 following a knee operation to repair her snapped cruciate ligament but after intensive physiotherapy, graced the slopes again last winter.
“Everyone should push themselves,” she said, adding that she is more daunted by the rice-based diet and rustic accommodation awaiting her than the cycle ride itself.
Teens Unite ‘fighting cancer’, founded by Debbie and fashion designer Karen Millen in 2007, aims to improve the lives of patients aged 13 to 24, inviting them to concerts, football matches, art and pamper days.
The charity currently helps more than 350 teens.
“It’s hard enough being a teenager. To have cancer is even harder,” said Lorraine.
The charity’s Joanna Sawyer said any fundraising ‘takes a massive load’ off organisers’ shoulders.
Lorraine, who leaves for South East Asia on January 10 and returns 11 days later, welcomes donations at www.justgiving.com/Lorrainescycle.