Filomena Firreli loves to help others, and she also enjoys walking, so when Mark Selley, chairman of the Bermuda Stroke and Family Support Association, told her about Marilyn Steede?s 24-hour, fund-raising walk last weekend, and said he was looking for people to accompany her at least some of the way, she immediately volunteered to do so for ?a few hours in the morning?.

?Even though I didn?t know what I was getting myself into, if I can be of help I will do whatever it takes. I just go for it. That?s totally the way I am. I don?t look for money, flowers or anything. I just like to be there for whoever needs help,? she says.

Starting at 5 a.m. on Saturday from Horseshoe Bay, Mrs. Firreli, a conscientious wife, and mother of 13-year-old twins, expected someone to replace her around 11 a.m. and she would be home in time to prepare lunch.

?Then Marilyn and I got talking, and she said, ?Are you going on?? Another lady walking with us said she was going to do the whole 24 hours and suggested I do it too. We walked on quietly, and I started to focus on how I could fit in my family commitments in.?

Having brought her cell phone with her ?just in case?, Mrs. Firreli called her daughters, said she would be walking ?longer? than planned, and told them to prepare their own lunch ? news they greeted with delight because they believed in what their mother was doing.

As the afternoon wore on, thoughts of how she would handle dinnertime and the care of her daughters while her husband was at work during the evening were churning in her mind, yet she was happy and wanted to carry on. There was only one thing to do ? phone home and successfully arrange alternate arrangements.

?After that I just kept walking. As we went up the hills Marilyn and I were holding hands and praying. There was a lot of prayer. I was praying to God to give Marilyn the strength to do this. I wasn?t thinking about myself because I didn?t know I would be walking all that time, but God gave me the strength too. It wasn?t just a fun walk, or trying to do what we had to do. It was actually through prayer and believing that we did it,? Mrs. Firreli says.

In fact, from late Saturday afternoon onwards, she and Ms Steede were left to continue on alone for the rest of the walk, so mutual support became doubly important, particularly during the long and at times cold night, and the two bonded well.

?Filomena and I talked during the evening and night, but there were times when we just walked in silence, yet you could feel that we were in sync mentally, and that is how we got there together,? Ms Steede says.

Mrs. Firreli pays tribute to 13-year-old David Selley, whose original intention was also to accompany the walkers on his pedal cycle for part of the journey, but on learning that she was committing to the full 24 hours, decided to do likewise.

?Let?s do it like a team, being there for Marilyn,? the young man said.

?He was serious, and there was so much beauty to his determination that he encouraged and inspired us,? Mrs. Firreli says.

During the walk, Mr. Selley acted as a go-between, ferrying water bottles and anything else they needed, between the women and his father Mark?s car, which followed throughout.

In terms of food, the mother of two says she was so focused on walking that she and Ms Steede ate very little along the way, with one delicious exception ? gingerbread fresh from the oven.

?Senator Kim Swan walked part of the way with us, and he asked us if we liked gingerbread. When we said ?yes?, he phoned ahead to his mother in Somerset, who actually baked us some. Senator Swan met us with it in his van, and the gingerbread was so warm we had to wait for it to cool off.?

In addition to discovering her own, unknown strengths, Mrs. Firreli says she was constantly struck by Bermuda?s beauty.

?That was No. 1 for me. I love this Island, and to see its beauty as I was walking was such an inspiration.?

She was also deeply touched by the generosity of the Bermuda people, who waited in the doorways of their homes, ran down driveways and across lawns, and even stopped their vehicles in traffic to donate money.

Incredibly, despite having walked for 24 hours straight, the Pembroke resident still does not believe she has done enough for the charity, so she is going to get a pledge form from Ms Steede and canvas her colleagues at work. Her birthday is tomorrow, and she has already told her family that completing the walk is the best present she could ever have.

Making light of the blisters gained during her gruelling journey, Mrs. Firreli prefers instead to focus on the heroic achievement of Ms Steede, who is the founder and star of what has become an annual fundraiser for the Bermuda Stroke and Family Support Association, but who declines further publicity for herself at this time.

?I watched Marilyn carefully, and she is one strong, determined woman,? she says. ?I think she deserves a lot of praise for what she did. I stayed with her because I saw her determination. When you want to help and there is beauty in it, don?t look around for anything else, just go with that.?

Meanwhile, the petite and pretty volunteer walker, who came to the Island from the Azores 35 years ago, is so inspired by Ms Steede and pleased with her own achievement that she ?can hardly wait? for next year.

?I was a really good experience in my life, and I will take it with me until I die,? she says.

Donations to the Bermuda Stroke and Family Support Association (BSFSA) will be welcomed until the end of April. Cheques made payable to the BSFSA should be mailed to the Association c/o Mr. Mark Selley, ?Ship?s Bow?, 4 Keith Hall Road, Warwick WK 06.