In February 2009 I heard the awful words that as a daughter or son you would dread, "your Dad has a rare liver cancer at stage 4" - in other words terminal. He was 64 and loving his retirement travelling the world and he was so proud to finally be a grandad to his cherished Sophia. It seemed so cruel that this healthy man would be hit so fast and hard.
With a little reminder from Sam (apparently I mentioned wanting to do this after the 10k run last October) I promised Dad that I would run for charity in the half marathon on the 11th October this year. He was so happy and proud. I was considering which charity when it became absolutely clear in the last couple of weeks of Dad's life.
Dad was transferred from hospital to the Hospice of the Good Shepherd in Backford nr Chester. And I must say that the staff both nursing and voluntary were absolutely wonderful. Whilst I knew they would look after Dad and make him as comfortable as possible in his last days I never realised that their care and compassion would extend to myself and Dad's family in the way that it did. I was never short of a hug if I needed one and their respect for our privacy in Dad's last hours was perfect. Dad sadly passed away on Saturday 6th June after a great fight.
It is hard to believe that an organisation like this would receive so little help from the Government for funding and as such relies primarily on fund-raising and charitable givings. It was clear that I needed to give something back to them for the love and support that they bestowed on me not just whilst Dad was passing away but in the days, weeks and months after.
It is with this in mind that I ask you to help me raise some money for a very wonderful and worthy cause. Of course I would love you to dig deep but I ask for whatever it is you can give. No amount is too small. And, don't forget I get to run 13 miles for this!!!!!!
The easiest option is to donate through my JustGiving site (Also Gordon Brown has to donate some too then).
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity. If you would prefer to donate in anotehr way then we can arrange that too.
So please dig deep and donate now.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and wish me luck !!
Wend xxxxx
