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At a young age of 38 my Dad Brian suffered two heart attacks which then lead him to have a major stroke. This affected my Dad's left side, so therefore my Dad was left paralysed down his left side. 

My Dad was hospitalised for a very long six month's for recuperation & to rebuild his strength.

It was along hard road to recovery for my Dad when he returned home. We had to get our family home totally renovated for wheelchair access & to make things much easier & more accessible for him whilst back home.

As a family we had to quickly adapt to the changes in our lives due to my Dad becoming disabled. My Dad had to unfortunately medically retire from his full-time job & was now totally dependent on a wheelchair & needing 24hr around the clock care. 

I was only eight at the time & my elder sister Joanne was eleven so this was a very difficult time for us all. Especially for my Mam Margaret, who at the time was trying to run our family home, look after & bring me & Joanne up single handedly whilst looking after my Dad full-time & still needing to go out to work to provide for us all.

Over time my Dad become alot stronger & with the support off my amazing Mam & his determination my Dad become more mobile & was up on his feet & he no longer needed to depend on his wheelchair.

My Dad was put under a fantastic cardiologist team at our local hospital, in Whitehaven & at the age of 40 my Dad travelled to Middlesbrough & was fitted with a  ICD - Implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

This fantastic piece of machinery helped my Dad massively & certainly prolonged his life.

On Saturday 12th September 2020 at the age of 67 my Dad suddenly became ill & was taken to hospital. He was later transferred to intensive care due to contracting sepsis,  this caused my Dad's organs to fail. He went on to suffer a major cardiac arrest, he was revived at the time but due to my Dad's already weakened heart he suffered another cardiac arrest straight after the first & was unable to recover, my Dad sadly passed away.

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I want to start my fundraising journey with The British Heart Foundation in memory of my late Dad, to first of all continue to make my Dad proud & secondly & most importantly to raise awareness for this amazing charity & for what they actually do.

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My little legs can walk for miles on flat but one of my biggest challenges of all is walking up steep hills.

I have set myself a big challenge on Tuesday 8th June, I am going to climb Scarfell Pike along with five of my work colleagues from Santander who have agreed to join me on the day.

I have also signed up to the British Heart Foundation June MyMarathon Challenge.

MyMarathon is a virtual event that challenges you to complete 26.2 miles starting 1st June to 30th June. You can choose to complete your marathon your own way.

I have chosen to walk this challenge so therefore I will be doing lots of walking throughout June because I am not a runner in any shape or form!

My Dad lived for the love of his Rugby League & was well known down at the Recreation Ground now known as the LEL Arena, supporting our local rugby team Whitehaven. 

I was due to attend Whitehaven's first home fixture against Batley Bulldogs on Sunday 13th June to do a bucket collection but due to Covid restrictions this got postponed. I will now attend their next home game against York City Knights on Sunday 27th June.

My Dad was also a member of the committee team at Hensingham ARLFC & he spent alot of his time helping out on the gate on match days & getting the team sponsorship.

Hensingham have agreed the game on Friday 13th August against Millom RLFC will be dedicated to my Dad.

I am so excited to announce I have signed up to the Great North Run that ironically takes place on the 11th September 2022 (My Dad's anniversary weekend) so I am sure my Dad will be cheering me on up there to finish line - This by far is my biggest challenge considering I started my fundraising journey a non runner and now I love nothing more than going out on a run. I am determined to go out there and smash this challenge for my Dad because I know he would of been super proud of my achievements.

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Any donation big or small will be greatly appreciated & will go straight to this amazing charity & help them so much.

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity..