Birmingham Hospice volunteer Sarah has taken on a unique fundraiser for the charity, doing a sponsored exposure therapy course at London Zoo to overcome her lifelong phobia of spiders.
Sarah told us: “I had to get something done about my phobia. It was becoming unbearable for me, my son and partner, because I was just screaming so loudly every time I saw a spider. I wouldn’t have windows open.
“I just suffered – I couldn’t be in the same room, and I would check rooms all the time for webs. I’ve had to ask neighbours before to get them out.”
A former nurse herself, Sarah has been inspired to support the hospice after she had friends cared for by our teams. She has since helped out with various events and bucket collections.
After having EMDR therapy, where her eye movements were tracked while being shown images of spiders, Sarah said: “I noticed that did help reduce it. And then I thought of signing up for the course and thought, ‘I wonder if I could raise money for charity’. I’m going to do something really brave. People do things like skydiving – so why not?
“People are willing to dig deep when it’s something that’s unique, and this is something that helps me in my life while also helping the hospice. It’s a real win win!”
The course at London Zoo involved talks from a spider expert and a therapist, and a hypnosis session before the turning moment, when Sarah had to touch a large tarantula to earn the certificate.
“I held her in two hands, and she was lovely. She did move her legs and crawl a little, but I felt fine. In fact, she was so lovely, I was tempted to slip her into my handbag and go home!”
Sarah’s life has since transformed – she was finally able to keep her windows open during the summer heatwaves, and now even has eight-legged friends of her own!
“When I got home actually, my son said to me ‘Mum, you’re not going to like it, but I’ve just noticed a spider on the wall’ and I said ‘no, let’s leave it.’ I learned to sex spiders on the course, and I said, “It’s a female. Let’s call her Cheryl – she looked like a Cheryl – and I just left her there. I don’t know where she’d gone, maybe out the window – but it doesn’t worry me.”
As well as conquering her fears, Sarah raised over £500 including Gift Aid – this could fund a whole day of nursing in the community to ensure we reach people who need us most.
If you’d like to organise your own fundraising for Birmingham Hospice, please visit our webpage.
