As many of you may know in November of last year I lost my Dad unexpectedly. My dad was a fun, active and we thought healthy man. Early in the year a niggling stomach pain was diagnosed as appendicitus and hs appendix was remove.  But as he still continued to suffer with stomach pains he was sent for a scan.

 A few weeks later he received a phone call from the doctor to see him urgently.  A large cancerous growth had been found on his kidney that was so extensive it had spread to the Vena Cava( the main vein south). The only realistic option was to remove the kidney and the growth.  The surgeon explained that it was a complex operation, but saw no reason why it should not be successful and expected him home within a week. 

Despite this massive growth he felt well, apart from the occasional bit of pain.  He was still active working on the house he was building for himself and my mum, playing golf, as well as fitting in the occasional bit if work.

In October he went into surgery with his usual positive outlook, but the 4 or 5 hour operation was more complicated than expected and 12 hours later we received a phone call to say he was unlikely to survive the night.  5 weeks later, on life support with complication after complication, the stubborn bloke would still not give up. He stunned the specialist team - they could not understand why he wasn't recovering but were equally staggered by his resolve.

Eventually, the specialists came to the conclusion that no further medical assistance could improve my Dad's condition. We were given the most difficult decision of our lives – to give permission to remove all of my Dad's life support equipment? With no realistic hope or expectation of recovery, we agreed that my Dad's needs must be prioritised. We wanted him to be comfortable, but also not to use any more energy fighting something that was relentless and impossible to overcome.

Throughout the next few days, despite having no life support assistance, my Dad continued to fight. He was obviously aware of what was happening, but still managed to hold our hands, give the occasional cuddle and sometimes greet us with a smile. These final days, in our minds, justified our decision to withdraw support, and irrespective of our grief and upset and we could finally spend our final moments with my Dad.

Throughout the time my Dad was hospitalised, we received excellent support and attention from not only the Doctors and specialists but also from the many nurses and administrative staff that were involved at some point along the way. Despite the fact that my Dad lost his fight, and that currently medical developments could not cure his rapidly spreading cancer, we would like to return the support that was offered to us by everyone at both Leeds St James Hospital and Leeds General Infirmary.

With that in mind and to continue with my Dad's ability to put a positive spin on everything, my best friend Emily and I thought it would be a good idea to set ourselves a challenge to raise money for the Intensive Units in memory of my amazing Dad. So we are riding 127 miles from Liverpool to Leeds along the canal. But that is not enough. We needed to put an 'Amily' spin on it soooooooo.... of course we are doing it on a tandem!!!!! Training has already commenced and you lot have the easy bit. All you have to do is put you hand in your pocket and give as little or as much as you can to help us meet our ambitious but worthy target. My dad always aimed high in life, people who knew him knew he was always working towards earning his millions so we are following (or cycling) in his footsteps and want to raise BIG amounts!

We will keep you all updated we our progress throughout our planning and training

Thankyou for your support lots of love Amy and Emily (Amily) xxx

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