A man who lost his son to an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2019 is walking from Sydney to Eden to help raise funds and awareness for palliative care conditions for young families.
Ken Walsh, 72, set out from Bondi earlier this year, and is currently in the Batemans Bay area on his way to an expected arrival in Eden on April 25.
After his walk down the South Coast, Ken will return to Sydney and head out on his way to Tweed Heads, a total trip of 1400 kilometres in two phases.
The walk is to raise funds for Derek’s Place, a vision started by Ken Walsh and his daughter-in-law Natasha after the untimely death of Ken’s son Derek in 2019 at the young age of 35.
“My son Derek died of an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2019,” Mr Walsh said.
“Derek spent the last two weeks of his life in palliative care as he could no longer be cared for at home.
“The facility was great, but his wife Natasha had to make a choice between remaining at the facility with Derek or being with their son Cristian each night as Cristian wasn’t allowed to stay at the hospital.
“There were other challenges too with having a small child at the facility during the day – there was nothing for him to do and they worried he was disturbing others when he played.
“We are going to provide a better experience for families who are losing a parent by building Australia’s first facility for palliative care that accommodates adult patients and their young families with children aged 13 years and under.
“In the meantime, we’re offering limited financial support to help people in this terrible predicament.”
During his walk, Ken has been traveling an average of 25 kilometres a day for six days a week.