Carolina Fisken and Juliet Mayhew recently took part in a women’s only classic car rally in Andalusia, Spain, in memory of Carolina’s dear friend, Paula ‘Poli’ de Cristobal, who tragically passed from sepsis at just 51 years old.
Between the 14th and 20th of October, the co-pilots ran daily rally runs of 250km throughout the beautiful Andalusian landscape in a 1954 Jaguar XK120.
They also worked with brands and shared their progress daily on their social media platforms to raise even more awareness of their cause.
Carolina kindly created an Always Remember Tribute Fund to honour Poli’s memory. Every donation received helps support our mission to save lives from sepsis and improve outcomes for survivors.
Carolina said: “This is the fourth classic car rally that I’ve taken part in and I have always used the opportunity of the rallies and the interest and attention that they attract to fundraise for causes that are dear to me.
Juliet was the best co-pilot and fundraiser one could have hoped for and I’m grateful that she agreed to join me. She’s got the most positive energy, she is incredibly funny, super friendly, easy going and has a large following in social media which helped tremendously with the fundraiser and donated generously to our cause.”
Poli de Cristobel tragically lost her life to sepsis on 3rd December 2023. She left two very young children, Felipe and Beltran, who never got to say goodbye to their mum who didn’t make it for their Christmas play. She is missed by her three grandchildren, Francesca, Marco and Luca, and by her older daughter Camila, who made Poli a grandmother aged 40.
Following breast implant replacement surgery, Poli didn’t receive the proper after-care and suffered a staphylococcus infection which progressed to the point of causing septic shock.
Although Poli contacted her plastic surgeon on nine occasions due to not feeling well, she was only prescribed wide spectrum antibiotics and inflammatory medication.
Carolina remembers her friend: “She and I shared many adventures when we were single and before I moved to the UK. After moving to the UK, she and I would speak on the phone on a daily basis. She was my confidant, and I was hers. […] She had so much life ahead of her.
Amongst the many dreams left unfulfilled, doing a classic car rally together was one of them. She would have loved to be my co-driver. She was very adventurous, loved a good party, enjoyed socialising and meeting new people. I feel that this car rally in Andalusia, Spain, would have been her dream.
I’m fundraising for the UKST because I understand the importance of the work that the UK Sepsis Trust does in preventing avoidable deaths by raising public awareness, educating and empowering individuals to ask if their condition may be sepsis.”
Together, Carolina and Juliet have raised an astounding £8,811 in Poli’s name.
Donate to the Always Remember Tribute Fund here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/carolina-fisken-polidecristobal
