Story
<div>Monday 23rd April</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span>WOW!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a race, what a day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>I can’t thank you all enough for your generous donations, support and messages. </span>The race went brilliantly.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Dad’s precision organisation meant I saw all 21 of my supporters, many of them on more than one occasion.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Mary and Roger won the prize for spotting me the most times at four spots!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Early on in the race I was dashing over the road to high five everyone but by 21 miles any supporters had to make do with a thumbs up and a wave.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Thankfully I avoided hitting ‘the wall’ and actually the whole day went quick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was so much to see that I didn’t notice the pain in my legs until after mile 20, which was tough.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Umpteen Rhinos overtook me and a Jamaican bobsleigh team, but I did overtake a man with an aerial, a mad hatter, giant apples, giant rice puddings, leopards and penguins, men on stilts and many more weird and wonderful consumes.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>I think I started a bit far back because I had to dodge many walkers and this meant according to my watch I ran about half a mile more than I needed to on the day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>As I sped past the last cheering squad at mile 25 then the heavens opened and I got soaked but it all added to the sense of occasion when finally I was allowed to stop.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Thankfully I seem to be injury free, one loose toenail and aching legs but I’m sure I’ll be back to walking normally in a few days time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Thanks again so much for all the help and support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought about all your messages whenever I was flagging.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Big thanks to supporters on the day, you made all the difference:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dave, mum and dad, Jill and Ashley, Mary, Roger, Ollie and Lou, Hamish, Chris, Nic, Natisha, Sarah, Carl, Mark, Kay, Thomas, Danny, Charlotte and Leon.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span>And a special mention to Dave who has put up with me through the training and supported me for the last six months. Everything from coming to watch me race, to coming out running, to coming out on the bike, running me baths, making me omelettes and reassuring me the whole time that I could and would do it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Almost forgot, my official finish time was 5 hours 39 minutes and 41 seconds, but who’s counting?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Lots of love XXX</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Final blog, two days to go: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">http://www.worksopguardian.co.uk/sport/local-sport/london-marathon-blog-2-days-to-go-1-4469091</p>
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<div><strong><span class="755054716-28112011"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">November 2011</span></span></strong></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Many of you probably know when I was 14 I was diagnosed with leukaemia.</span></div>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Understandably this was a tough time for me and my family.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">But through it all Wessex Cancer <span class="755054716-28112011">Trust,</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> and specifically the staff and fellow inmates at Piam Brown <span class="755054716-28112011">Ward, </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">made the experience bearable.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Both me and my Mum stayed on the ward, almost solidly, for six months, leaving my Dad and Ollie to cope at home, visiting daily.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Thanks to fundraising like this the ward offered a number of facilities to help families throughout their stay.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">These included a parents' room where mums and dads could go to discuss their children and offload to each other<span class="755054716-28112011">; Kitchens </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">where families could store and prepare food<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: #1f497d;">,</span> <span style="color: #1f497d;">s</span>aving those staying overnight from six months of hospital <span class="755054716-28112011"> dinners; and </span>providing a bit of fridge space to store some of their child's favourite home comforts.</span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The ward also comes with a teenagers' room and toyroom for the<span class="755054716-28112011"> children, vital </span>for those who are experiencing cabin fever and for siblings who are visiting regularly. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Funds raised for Wessex Cancer Trust go to keeping these playrooms stocked with the latest gadgets, which<span class="755054716-28112011">, </span>if they <span class="755054716-28112011">manage </span>to distract a child<span class="755054716-28112011"> for </span>just thirty minutes<span class="755054716-28112011">, </span> have done their job.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Cash also goes to the <span class="755054716-28112011">Macmillan </span>team and the vital work they do advising parents and helping with home visits<span class="755054716-28112011"> , plus</span> the staff in the school room, who worked tirelessly to tempt me to learn something while I was on the ward.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The facilities at the ward and support and care were second to none.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">And for this reason I have signed up for my ultimate physical challenge, the London Marathon.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Me and<span class="755054716-28112011"> M</span>um watched the race from my hospital bed in '98, and it would never in a million years have crossed our minds I would one day be doing it. Those who remember me from school will understand why this was so unlikely, aside from the drip stand (set four for PE) (of four).</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">My aim is to raise some money for the families who are now visiting Piam Brown Ward and for the life-saving staff, and of course to say a <span style="text-decoration: underline;">totally inadequate</span> <strong><span style="color: #ff00ff;">'THANK YOU'</span> </strong>to everyone there.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Any amount you can sponsor me is most most welcome!</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Thanks for visiting my page.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Debs xxx<span class="755054716-28112011"> </span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="755054716-28112011"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="755054716-28112011">LATEST: </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="755054716-28112011"><a href="http://www.worksopguardian.co.uk/sport/local-sport/london_marathon_blog_1_month_and_20_days_1_4303903"><span style="color: #000000;">/london-marathon-blog-16-days-to-go-1-4423523</span></a></span></span></p>
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