Justin's 2021 London Marathon
Justin Hesketh is raising money for Royal Trinity Hospice (London)
In memory of Loretta Oliver
Story
A year later than planned (due to cancellation of the 2020 event) I'm running the London marathon on behalf of my dear friend, Paul Oliver and family, in memory of his wife Loretta.
With a little over 4 weeks to go, I have 2 long runs left - it's safe to say the legs are sore!!
I am honored to be running and whilst I could give many reasons for this, Paul's story speaks volumes:
'Trinity is a very special place for me and my two children, Emma and Thomas.
Our journey started in 2007 when we were hit with the devastating news that Loretta, my wonderful wife, and soulmate of 21 years had terminal ovarian cancer. She was 44, Emma and Thomas were just 4 and 2. At the time, we were told that Loretta had just 6 months to live.
Loretta spent the next six years battling her illness enduring 5 rounds of chemo desperate to prove the Doctors and statistics wrong, as well as raising awareness and fundraising to help others.
As a family we squeezed every last bit of enjoyment out of life. Mundane things which we all take for granted such as sitting down to breakfast together or squashing onto the sofa to watch a film were relished moments and are now treasured memories.
In 2013 Loretta came to Trinity – where she spent the last 4 weeks of her life.
We found Trinity a place of remarkable calm and tranquillity when it felt like life was collapsing around us. Trinity’s nurses really understood that every moment left was precious and they did everything they could to help us make the most of them. They actively encouraged us to have ‘sleepovers’ where Emma, Thomas and I could stay overnight on makeshift beds in Loretta’s room. Emma and Thomas still laugh about our pet rabbit going to visit and being signed into the guestbook as ‘Miss Brownie Oliver’!
My most precious memories are the times I spent with Loretta by the pond in the beautiful gardens at Trinity, where we would chew over life, the fun times we had together, and the plans we still had for Emma and Thomas. I still return to Trinity to sit there, as for me this is where Loretta rests.
‘Living every moment’ is at the very heart of what Trinity is about. The staff and volunteers are without a doubt some of the kindest most caring people I have ever met.
The nurses and counselling team helped us to come to terms with the awful reality of what was happening to our ‘little family’, and provided invaluable insight and support in helping Loretta and I prepare Emma & Thomas - who were only 8 and 10 when they lost their mum.
This amazing place costs £15m each year to run and receives only a quarter of its funding from the Government/NHS, meaning that each year Trinity need to raise around £11.5 million pounds to ensure that their services remain free to the families it supports.
At the moment Trinity is only able to help 50% of the people with Palliative Care needs. So for every person like Loretta, there is another, plus their family, all unable to benefit from the care and support that we all benefited from.
Please support Justin in his efforts to raise much needed funds for Trinity so that families like mine can continue to benefit from the fabulous care and support that Trinity provides.
Justin, on behalf of the Oliver’s, thank you so much for running the 2021 London Marathon for this great cause!
Much Love Paul, Emma, & Thomas'