When Maria Sellick was growing up, her dad would jokingly tell her he’d walk from London to Wolverhampton for her — a 124 mile trek — to illustrate that he’d do anything for her.
In November 2021, Maria died from sudden cardiac arrest when she was walking home from work in Wolverhampton in the cold. She was only 17.
Cardiac arrest is the sudden loss of all heart activity due to an irregular heart rhythm.
According to the American Heart Association, more than 350,000 Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests (OHCA) occur each year.
If performed immediately, CPR can double or triple the chance of survival from OHCA. But only 40% of people who experience an OHCA get the immediate help that they need before professional help arrives.
Sadly, Maria was walking alone when she had her cardiac episode. But Santino Sellick has carried her in his heart every day since.
Three years after her death, Santino realized that the date that would have marked Maria’s 21st birthday was fast approaching — and he decided it would be a perfect opportunity to follow through on the promise he made her years ago.
“All her life I used to say to Maria that, ‘I'd walk from London for you,’” he told the BBC.
“It was just a show of love but in a jesting type of way, and it kept going round and round in my head,” he continued.
“I spoke to my wife and said ‘I'm going to walk from London,’ and my wife gave me the thumbs up.”
On January 1 of this year, Sellick and his friends set out on a six-day trek to raise money for local charities in Maria’s name — including the UK nonprofit Cardiac Risk in the Young.
In addition to supporting families that have lost loved ones to cardiac arrest, the nonprofit aims to prevent deaths through awareness campaigns and early heart screening programs.
Braving blisters and biting wind, Sellick and his friends slept in tents along the route and wore sweatshirts in Maria’s name, spreading her story as they walked.
On January 7 — Maria’s birthday — they completed the 124-mile hike from London back to Sellick’s home in Codsall, near Wolverhampton.
Santino said memories of his daughter motivated him to keep going every step of the way.
“My feet are battered, swollen, I have blisters everywhere and my skin has ripped off them but I wanted to prove to her that she was my child,” Santino said.
In the end, Santino raised more than £7,000 on their charity walk.
In an interview with the BBC, Maria’s mother Michelle was overwhelmed with pride.
“All the lads that joined him I can't thank them enough,” she said. “And all the superheroes who have donated [are] absolute legends.”
Santino said he was overwhelmed with “gratitude, emotions, and love” when he returned home to his wife and three children.
“I hope she'd be proud,” Santino said of Maria. “I know she would laugh that infectious laugh straight away, and I know she'd say I'm mad, but I'd see her lip curl into a smile of pride and that's what I want to do.”
“I want to keep her memory alive and I want to also keep it alive in the type of person that she was.”
Header image courtesy of the Sellick Family
