We are going to climb Ben Nevis on Saturday 1st October raising money for Mountbatten Hampshire. Mountbatten is close to our hearts after Christine Cooper, Dan's mother, sadly passed away aged 56 and we would like to do everything possible to help continue their outstanding work. 

In May 2020 Chris started to feel tired. Any of us would
feel tired if we did as much as her but this was different. She thought that perhaps she was anaemic and made an appointment to see the doctor. She’d been in Swanage the week before and for the first time ever  had got breathless climbing up a hill .The doctor asked Chris to come in for a blood test the following Tuesday. That evening the hospital rang and told her to pack a bag and come straight in. That night she had a blood transfusion and the nightmare began.

She was basically in hospital for the next 5 months in isolation as she
had no immune system. She had Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.

To start with there was hope. Chemotherapy, stem
cell transplant, talks even of a cure.  The NHS really
do come up trumps when you need them and no stone was left unturned , no treatment deemed too expensive , no drug considered not worth trying . For the first round of Chemo we lived in hope.

After two rounds of Chemo and an experimental treatment that turned out not to be suitable we were told that all hope was lost and Chris came home.

She was very tired at that time but took enjoyment from seeing her family again especially her grandchild Holly who they took to see the Christmas lights being switched on. Chris was so brave, she knew she was dying but was resigned to it.

Chris got pneumonia in December and was back in hospital, then later
transferred to the Countess Mountbatten Hospice. Jon was able to stay with Chris at the Hospice on a camp bed and was both Emma and Dan her children were able to spend quality time on their own with their mum at the Hospice.

The Hospice provided Chris and her family a comfortable friendly
environment to spend their final days together whilst at the same time
providing Chris with all the medical and personal support she needed.

Chris passed away on the 7^th of January 2021.

We are climbing Ben Nevis to raise money for the Mountbatten Hospice that looked after Dans mother, Matt’s mothers best friend, and family friend to Brett, Chris.

Mountbatten-Hampshire (formerly Countess Mountbatten Hospice) is a charity which provides free care and support to people with any life-limiting illness, including respiratory disease, Motor Neurone Disease, heart disease, advanced dementia and cancer. We also provide free bereavement and psychological support to patients and their families. We are an independent charity which, each and every year, must raise more than £7m to ensure we can care for the growing number of people who need us.