Walk for Jess We caught up with Connie Lawson who is fundraising for Alopecia UK this September, in memory of her sister Jess, who sadly passed away last year. Why have you chosen to fundraise for Alopecia UK? Alopecia affected my sister Jess from when she was about 12. She really struggled with her self-image and mental health and constantly battled as a result of this. She also found having alopecia a practical challenge. For example, she loved to swim in the sea where we grew up on the Isles of Scilly but this became impossible for her when she worried about what patches might show when her hair was wet. The unpredictability of alopecia made it more traumatic for her to deal with as even when her hair did come back in places she’d never know for how long. Jess was a talented artist, always making cards and gifts for her friends and family that often featured Bob, her rather oversized cat. Our logo (middle pic above) is one of the personalised pieces she made for my birthday a few years ago. Over recent years, she discovered a passion for gardening and was often found planting vegetables or learning Latin names of plants usually with Bob alongside her. What is your fundraising challenge? Between 8th-11th September a small group of us will be walking about 86 miles along the SW Coast Path from Portreath to Lizard Village over 4 days, camping each night. It will be myself and my friend Merel Spink, who also has alopecia, walking the whole distance with some other family and friends joining us for sections along the way or possibly the whole thing. How are you both feeling ahead of the challenge? We are confident we can achieve the challenge but it’s going to hurt! Correct walking boots and socks have been bought already, training walks planned. Our main concerns are probably carrying enough food and water and avoiding wet feet/blisters. Cornish weather will provide something for us to contend with I’m sure! UPDATE: Connie and Merel raised a whopping £3,570.00 for Alopecia UK! A HUGE thank you to them both for their incredible efforts!