I'm running in the London Marathon on 23rd April 2017, exactly 8 months after my mum sadly passed away. Mum (Valerie Ann Gifford) was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer at the beginning of August and sadly died 3 weeks later at home with me and my dad beside her.

Initially, the doctors thought she had gall bladder problems and it took a few months for mum to be diagnosed properly.  Mum was so brave and a total inspiration to me.  I have decided to run the marathon to raise both money and awareness of Pancreatic Cancer.  It is known as the silent cancer as there are few symptoms until it has spread too far and hard/impossible to treat.  The survival rate has remained low for the past 50+ years and we need to do something to improve that, so other families don't suffer as we have.

Here are a few words that I wrote about my mum shortly after she passed to show how much she meant to me:

Mummy. Mum. Mutti.

I am struggling to find the words to say what my mother meant to me. She told me often that all she ever wanted to do was to be a mum, not that she needed to tell me; it was always shown in the things that she did. She was loving, caring and such a worrier! When I was younger, I couldn’t understand why mum worried so much, but now I see that it was because of the strength of love she had for us all. A love so strong that meant that in the last few weeks of her life, rather than be sad and upset and angry, she was brave and caring and was just pleased that we were all doing well in our lives and that she could leave us knowing that we were all happy.

My fondest memories are of the everyday rituals we shared: Mum bouncing me around in my woolly tights to pull them up and get me dressed. Mum spending hours plaiting my hair into hundreds of tiny plaits so that it would be curly the next day. Mum singing “Thou shall have a fishy on a little dishy when the boat comes in”, a song which she told me she used to sing to us to help us to sleep. Podding peas in the garden and digging up potatoes as though we were hunting for treasure. Making lemon cheesecake and pigs in blankets.

I feel so lucky to have shared those special moments with mum and that I got the chance to tell mum how much I loved her and appreciated her. Some of the last words mum heard before she died were “Thank you for being the best mum ever.”. And yet I know mum was so much more than that to so many. She was a devoted wife, loving grandma, loyal friend, caring sister, beautiful woman…the list continues. Thank you Mum for being you.

Please give generously to this important cause and in memory of a wonderful woman.