Mother with chronic heart failure completed a 13-mile hike

Suzanne Preston on the Whitworth Skyline Walk 2014

A mother of two with chronic heart failure completed a 13-mile hike around Whitworth to raise money for charity.

Suzanne Preston, 52, from Whitworth, is on borrowed time. While in her 30s she was told her condition was terminal after she had two heart attacks, but she is a fighter.
She finished the 13-mile Whitworth Skyline Walk 2014 in just six hours, thanks to several supporters who provided encouragement.

Suzanne, who is the outreach and community development officer at Rossendale charity Veterans In Communities (VIC), said: “I had some really good friends walking with me and that made the journey so much shorter.

“I didn’t rush the walk; I just had a wonderful day with the best company in the world.”

Suzanne’s medical problems started with dilated cardiomyopathy but then it became more complex.

In her 30s, while she was the manager of the former Springfield Court in Bacup, flu struck the sheltered accommodation and Suzanne contracted it twice, then she got pneumonia. This combination of illnesses caused her heart attacks and left her with a weakened heart.

She said: “I was told it was terminal and I had until Christmas. But I survived Christmas, as a single mum with two children, I had to get back to working full-time but that did more damage.

“I was able to put my son through university but then went into relapse and, four years ago, started with organ failure because of the medication I was on.

“It was during this major relapse, while I was at rock bottom, that I met Bob Elliott and Darren Horsnell and I joined them working to set up VIC.

“The support from the guys and the passion for the work we were doing gave me a new lease of life.”

The unique peer support that comes from within the armed forces community and the founding ethos of VIC helped Suzanne’s transition through a challenging time in her life.

Suzanne’s health issues and experience of military life – her father was an officer in the Navy who served for over 30 years, her ex husband developed transitional issues on leaving the Army after 17 years – her qualifications and work experience has helped the team to develop VIC and, in turn, VIC has helped Suzanne to turn her life around.
Bob presented Suzanne with a pair of walking boots and a hiking stick and she joined the VIC walking group that goes on short walks every fortnight.

She trained thoroughly for the 13-mile hike walking a couple of miles each day in Healey Dell near her home and longer walks at the weekend.

When she completed the skyline walk she felt on top of the world, but the following day her lungs were congested and she took two hours to get out of bed.

Suzanne said: “I felt like Ninja turtles had stolen my body during the night, and left me with an old broken one.”

But she does not regret taking part in the walk and she is delighted to have raised awareness and some money for VIC.