Highgate man to honour late sister with Great Wall of China trek
Zach de Botton is preparing to trek along the Great Wall of China. Picture: Polly Hancock. - Credit: Archant
The brother of a former Highgate schoolgirl who died of cervical cancer in 2011 is preparing to honour her memory with a charity trek along the Great Wall of China.
Zach de Botton, 25, will set off on a five-day trek across the ancient wall in May 2015 to raise money for Marie Curie Hospice Hampstead in Lyndhurst Gardens.
Along with friend Richard Cook, 34, Zach is aiming to raise £7,000 for the hospice, which cared for his late sister Torie Benson during her battle with cervical cancer.
Torie, who attended Channing School in The Bank, Highgate, was diagnosed with the disease in 2009 and passed away, aged 30, in May 2011.
Zach, who also lost his father to a heart attack six months before his sister’s death, said: “I don’t think the pain really goes away.
You may also want to watch:
“I don’t like to pick favourites but out of everyone in my family, I was definitely closest to Torie. She was the rock that held the family together.
“It’s almost like a part of you is gone. I don’t think any of us have fully come to terms with it. The whole ordeal really changes your outlook on life.
Most Read
- 1 Apology to Barnet mother for 'embarrassing' food parcel
- 2 Crouch End's 'Paul the Paper' bids farewell to Broadway stall
- 3 All Camden care home residents given Covid jab
- 4 Hampstead vaccination centre shoots for 1,000 daily Covid jabs
- 5 'People are scared to come out', say Hampstead coffee shops
- 6 Jeremy Corbyn launches Peace and Justice Project with calls to action
- 7 Kentish Town café fundraises to keep community spirit alive
- 8 Free Nazanin: Calls for clarity as West Hampstead mum's sentence draws to a close
- 9 Joan Bakewell fires legal threat to government over second Covid jab
- 10 Hampstead's Karma Bread thanks Royal Free staff with baked goods
“I don’t think it ever gets easier but maybe the time lapses between the intense bouts of grieving get longer.”
Zach, of Sussex Gardens, Highgate, and his family take part in a charity walk in aid of Marie Curie on the anniversary of Torie’s death each year, starting from her memorial bench in Waterlow Park.
He says that he will keep fundraising for Marie Curie and its Hampstead hospice for the rest of his life.
“Having seen first-hand how hard the staff work, it’s the least I can do,” he said.
“They hold a really special place in my heart. Everyone who works there seems to be a really phenomenal person.
“They always took the time to remember your name, stopped to talk to you in the hallway – little things that can really make a difference.”
For more information about Zach’s charity trek in China and to donate, visit www.justgiving.com/zachandcookie-china