This could happen to any of us, one day feeling perfectly normal and the next hearing the words that no one is ever prepared for.

We at Mighty Oaks Tree Solutions are calling all Tree surgeons and the Companies you work for to come together and help us raise a substantial amount of money to give to a fellow tree surgeon John Harman and his family. John and his family have recently received unexpected and devastating news that has shocked them and everyone around them.

We have known John for a very long time and he is very much a part of our family. He is like any other man, loves his family and loves life. John is an avid Cardiff City fan and never misses a match.

John and his partner Helena live in Cardiff and have 5 children between them: Jade 25, Ethan 22, Misha 19, Ewan 17, Amelia 10 and then the youngest Cael 7.

Just under 2 weeks ago after a short time of feeling unwell and a number of visits to his local GP, John took himself in to the local A&E. The staff there completed some tests and a few days later John was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic pancreatic cancer. John received this news the same week he turned 50.

Surgery is not an option as there is no cure for his diagnosis and only Chemotherapy can be offered to prolong his life. John knows he has a fight on his hands however the worry of how his family will cope throughout his illness and after is at the forefront of his mind. We want John to be in a position to not have to worry about his family and concentrate on keeping himself fit and well so that he can proceed with the Chemotherapy. The median survival for untreated advanced pancreatic cancer is about 3 1/2 months; with good treatment this may increases to about eight months.

I can’t imagine how hard it has been for both John and Helena to sit their children down and tell them the unimaginable news.

How do you do that? Knowing there is no good outcome from this prognosis and that the youngest will not really understand what is going on but one day daddy is not going to be here and that it the reality for them all.

Mighty Oaks are holding in true Tree Surgery fashion a Charity Carry a Log up Pen Y Fan Mountain Event on the 28th January 2018 at 10:30am to represent John and his family.

We are looking for everyone and anyone to volunteer to carry a log and gather sponsorship from friends and family. We are hoping to raise a substantial amount of money to give to John and his family so that we can take some of the worries and concerns they have for now and the future. John will never work again and we know this is a major worry for him.

If you are interested in climbing Pen Y Fan Mountain with us then please do not hesitate to contact Natalie on mighty.oaks@hotmail.co.uk so that we can have an idea of numbers. When collecting sponsorship money please use this link and page so that we can always see where we are at with regards to attaining our target. Please continue to share our page so that we can reach as many people as possible and raise the maximum amount of money.

We will be looking for volunteers to help with the event as well so please let us know if you are interested. If you would like to donate and not walk with us that is also welcomed but please use this page.

We would like to thank you all for reading and sharing John’s story. My wish is that we can show John and his family that we care and that we are here when times are good and when they get bad.

Please can I stress that whether it be for sponsorship or donations please use and share this page thank you so much