FROME man, Christopher Bale, is to walk 500 miles in 28 days in memory of his daughter AnaBella who died in 2018 at just 28 days old.
Christopher will walk with his father-in-law, Enoc Burgos, the famous 500 mile route known as the Camino De Santiago from 21st April to 19th May. They want to achieve the route in 28 days starting from the day AnaBella was born, to the day she died.
During the challenge, Christopher is looking to raise money for two charities that helped him during this time, Cots for Tots and Cruse Bereavement and will also use the funds to start a podcast called ‘A Father’s Grief’ to help other dads talk through the bereavement of a child.
Christopher said, “I am feeling confident about the walk. I wanted to do something quite soon after AnaBella’s death as a way of processing everything. Obviously there is a little bit of trepidation, it’s a big challenge, 500 miles in 28 days, but I wanted to do something big. It’s going to be tough from any perspective but no-where near as tough as losing a child.
“During my challenge I am hoping to film a video each day to process my thoughts and hope that it will help others in my situation. During the grieving process I found, and continue to find as my wife and I have suffered miscarriages since AnaBella, that there isn’t much help for dads. We also, as men, have a tendency not to talk. There were lots of women reaching out to my wife to discuss things, but there wasn’t much on my side.
“Therefore with the funds raised I will start a podcast called ‘A Father’s Grief’. It will initially start with my story, my thoughts and how this challenge will help me process my grief and then I will look to speak to other dads in the same or similar situations.
“As a man, society has given us many roles and one of those roles is to be the protector of your family and if one of your children has died, there is a part of you that thinks you have failed massively at your part, even if it’s not directly your fault.
“The podcast will help to share and reach out to people that have unfortunately become apart of this club.”
To follow Christopher and Enoc’s journey, they will be posting regular updates on their GoFund me page: www.gofundme.com/walk-for-anabella where you can also donate.
‘A Father’s Grief’, once the first episode has been recorded, will be available on all major podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.
