Firefighter Jordan Ohara tells Lisa Crow about her special tribute to her nan
Firefighter Jordan Ohara found a unique way to pay tribute to her beloved nana. Lisa Crow finds out more.
LOSING a relative is one of the hardest things anyone ever has to cope with. When Jordan Ohara lost her nana, Pat Harris, last summer, she wanted to pay tribute to the woman who raised her, and to say thanks to the nurses at St Barnabas Hospice who cared for them both.
“Initially I was fundraising by running a hundred miles a month, from August until the end of the year, but it wasn’t challenging enough so I thought I’d do something a bit out there,” firefighter Jordan explains.
Jordan asked colleagues to set her a challenge, so they suggested a walk from Bognor Regis Pier to Brighton Pier and back again – in her firefighting gear!
With her mission accepted, Jordan and her friend, Mollie, completed the walk in December, raising money for both St Barnabas House and the Fire Fighters Charity.
Pat had been hospitalised after a fall last year, and COVID restrictions meant patients couldn’t have visitors.
As it was clear that, sadly, Pat wasn’t going to survive much longer, Jordan and her partner made the decision to discharge her from hospital so they could spend her last three weeks with her at home.
“Her heart and body couldn’t handle it,” Jordan explains.
“We just tried to make her as comfortable as possible and tried having lots of fun with her.
“St Barnabas were incredible. They are literally angels.
“Raising money in her memory is the least I can do to say thank you for the amazing support and care my nana received.
“It was truly unbelievable and I will be for ever in debt for their kindness and compassion.”
“My nana brought me up and was my best friend, so I felt like my world was falling apart.
“St Barnabas gave me counselling and the bereavement team were phenomenal.
“I needed to give back to them. That’s how this crazy challenge came about.”
The 60-mile walk would have been no mean feat at the best of times, but when you add in the breathing apparatus and fire kit, Jordan was carrying around 22 kilos.
They hoped to complete the route in 20 hours, but managed to do it in 17 and a half, despite bad weather.
“It was hammering down,” Jordan says. “It was twenty-two mile-per-hour winds, so by the end of it we couldn’t walk.”
Jordan revealed that thinking of her nana kept her going.
“It was really special,” she says. “It was an event I’ll never forget. I was so zoned out while I was doing it.
“I saw my nana in pain every day, and I thought if she could last three weeks of that, I can do this. I just took her strength to keep going.”
“They did a fantastic job,” Phil Maynard, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service’s charity champion for the Fire Fighter’s Charity, says.
“We are all incredibly proud of their efforts to support the Fire Fighters Charity.”
Jordan was touched by the local community’s support, with people e-mailing messages of encouragement.
“The support has been amazing,” she says. “So many people e-mailed, saying, ‘Come on, you’re doing amazing things.’
“So many cars stopped to beep us on. I felt a real community spirit.”
Aside from her pier-to-pier challenge, how did Jordan plan to ensure she met her target of walking 100 miles every month?
“I tried to do five kilometres every day,” she explains.
“If I failed, I did a ten km run or a fifteen km run another day, but I always made sure I hit it at the end of the month.
“It gave me a focus to try to distract me from the grief of losing my nana.”
At the time of writing, Jordan has raised more than £3,200: something Pat would have been extremely proud of. It exceeded Jordan’s initial target of £1,200.
“I honestly can’t believe it,” Jordan admits. “It’s all a bit overwhelming.
“I didn’t think I’d get £1,200. Everyone is in a rubbish position just now, but they still give, and that’s the incredible thing about humanity.
“We are all together and it’s just beautiful.” ■