A little on my Reasons:

In October 2011, Dad, Glen, Cavin and I were told that my Mum had a Grade 4 Brain Tumour, we were told in an isolated room at the hospital on a crisp autumn day.  My initial reaction was one of total disbelief, especially as we each thought she had had a Stroke, though, whilst still serious, nothing prepared us for hearing that dreaded C word (not that one).  My initial reaction was to re-treat to my parents’ house to finish the laundry that my mum had started earlier that week.

This type of news hits everyone differently, for several days after, it just did not feel real, I would wake up in the morning and suddenly realise that ‘This is really happening’ but not have the time to sit around feeling miserable – I had a family to protect, support and love.   Once the shock had dissipated and reality had set in I just wanted to get on with treatment, running my Mums house, looking after her and the rest of the family and always hoping for the best.   She had an operation to remove the tumour two weeks later, however because of its growth the most excellent surgeon had to leave a ‘root’ in the brain.  If this had been removed it could have sent the Brain into shock, so it was left in with the hope that Radiotherapy would ‘kill’ the remaining mass.  Mum had several rounds of Radiotherapy and a couple of rounds of Chemotherapy but to no avail and in the Summer of 2012 we all knew what was coming. 

It was at this point that Macmillan and the North London Hospice came into play, their compassionate, honest, decent, kind and supportive nature will always be remembered by my family and me.  Both provided some of the best ‘end of life care’ and were a pillar of strength for us, especially when you are feeling so overwhelmed that you’re not sure what to do for the best.

In the two days leading up to her passing, she slept.  I was at work on the Friday and just knew something was up, I finally arrived at my Parents home after work to find, Dad, Glen and Cavin in her room just holding her hand.  She woke up at 10:30 on Friday 12 October 2012 and took a long look at her family who surrounded her bed, even though she struggled to open her  eyes she still had a glint within them that said to me ‘I love You’  Mum went to sleep for the last time at 11:50pm on Friday 12 October 2012. 

A little about Mum:

My Mum, the youngest child in a family of 9 kids from Lancashire (things they did before the invention of TV eh).  Mum had her first Son, Glen when she was 25 after her and Dad had set up roots in New Zealand.  After my Nanna became ill back in the UK she decided she wanted to be with her, so Mum, Dad and Glen made the trip back to London to set up a new home back in her home country.  I came along when she was 31 and life just got better. 

I am her baby. I have always looked up to my Mum. She was a strong woman. She made me believe that anything is possible. She made sure her Son’s knew that they could do anything they set their mind to and that only our own mind-set would stop us from doing those things.

My Mum also always taught me the importance of family and supporting each other and sticking together. I take my cues from her and try and be the best son/brother/uncle/friend and Hublet I can possibly be.

Over the years some of my Parents family and friends had found themselves in various difficulties, whether it was financial, housing or domestic issues, she always was the first to help and I am so proud to have witnessed her generosity, love and kindness over the years. She told me about various times throughout her life she had come to the aid of others, not through bragging but to teach me the values of life,  Reminding me that we have all been there at one time or another and I was once again reminded how wonderful my Mum was. How awesome of a person she was and how she would do anything for people she loved.   I told my Mum many times how wonderful she was and how much I appreciated her. She told me I was wonderful too (I saw that smirk) and to never change.

I never plan to.

Love you, Mum xx

A little about my Expectations:

My expectations for this are, as with everything, HIGH and over the top.  Not only will I be raising much needed funds for such a great cause I will be doing it for my Mum and with my Darling Brother at my side.  This will involve some moderate training and as such I have started a small fitness regime and am in the process of quitting my bad smoking habit. 

Those of you that know my brother and I well, will no doubt know that we will more than likely have a minimum of 2 rows (one up, one down) however this will usually stem from Glens constant Piss taking, something I can tolerate for quite a while (try 32 years) before succumbing to my lack of Brotherly tolerance and throwing what he lovingly refers to a ‘Hissy Fit’ – perhaps but he is just one of them people that knows how to wind you up – I can honestly say I really am looking forward to doing this with you ‘Bruv’ LOL!!!

How you CAN help:

You already are, just by visiting this page and donating what you can, you are already helping make the lives of those affected by Cancer much better.  So thank you for taking the time to visit my fundraising  page.

There are three options:

Just Giving HERE

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 - So please dig deep and donate now, oh and don’t forget to click for gift aid – this allows us to claim more from the Government.

Guess2Give HERE

Once you have donated your sum using JustGiving, you can go that extra mile for me and enter yourself into a Fun little competition.  By paying just £3 you can try to guess my time, how long do you think it will take me to get from Base camp to the summit?  They estimate it is a 6 – 9 hour walk depending on fitness levels (6 being Bear Grills and 9 being a 9-5 manicured City Dweller)

Your £3 guess will give £2.50 to Macmillan Support and 50p goes to a prize fund for the person who successfully guesses my time – this means that if 1000 of you do this; there is a potential £500 up for grabs to the winner. 

So, please, its only £3 and you could wind up with a nice little bonus before Summer starts (if we ever get a Summer)

Donate with a Simple Text:

It's easy to donate via text

You simply text

My Code  

VLWS55

With the amount  £5

To  70070

You’ll also be able to add Gift Aid at no extra cost.

A breakdown of what your support could do:

£100

Could mean that the Macmillan Support Line would be able to help people affected by cancer claim £2,691 in the benefits they’re entitled to.

£156

Could run the Macmillan Support Line for an hour, providing an average of 13 people with essential information and support

£350

Could pay for a much needed convalescent break for someone with Cancer and their carer

£918

Could fund a Macmillan nurse for a working week

£2,026

Could fund a Macmillan rehabilitation support team for a week, providing a range of services, including physiotherapy and diet advice, to people with Cancer

 

Thanks

To everyone who has given their hard earned money to help my raise money for Macmillan, thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart, thank you!!!!

Axx