(Kate, mom Denise, and son Alex, an Alki Elementary student, atop the Columbia Tower last winter)
One local woman out running today is on a quest – you may already have seen Kate Calamatta out along the Alki Trail if she kept to her original plan:
I’m a West Seattle resident originally from the UK. In March this year my Mum had a very serious road traffic accident in the South of England. I was running along Alki when I got the news. 24 hours later I was by her bedside at Southampton Neuro ICU in the UK. She was in a bad way and it was touch and go for the first few week. After nearly two weeks she began to awake from her coma and begin her long journey of rehabilitation. Now she’s in a specialist unit for traumatic brain injury. Progress is being made but it is a slow and hard fight. There’s no doubting she will be impaired for life.
After the accident my Mum was airlifted by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance to Southampton. Had this service not been available there’s no way she would have survived. The Air Ambulance is a charity and not funded by the UK govt.
I have been running for only 8 months and after Mum’s accident I decided to do something substantial to raise money for the people who saved her life. So, (today) I will be running a half marathon that will begin at Queen Anne and end at my home in West Seattle.
So, if anyone sees (or saw) me, a hunkered down, slow, exhausted looking runner, jogging along Alki, please give me a cheer and some positive vibes! I’ll be easily recognizable by my slow pace, red face, black leggings, grey vest and a black headband! Also, if anyone is moved to do so, please look at my fundraising page:
I know this is a foreign charity for most of the people in WS but it is a very worthwhile cause that makes a real difference.
| 3 COMMENTS