When I first wrote this who knew we would be facing a pandemic and how it would turn our lives upside down!

The pandemic has affected so many lives which makes this challenge all the more difficult but needed in order to raise funds for nurses to support cancer sufferers.

Back to my original story …. 

Ok so here I am again.. Trying to do my little bit to give back... only this time my chosen charity is Velindre Cancer Centre.  Now why am I doing this you might ask???  Why take on such a challenge that means I'm not only going to have to get my fat butt in shape (It seems I have to walk 6-8 hours a day) but also push myself above and beyond to raise the grand total of £4,000.

Originally I wrote the following.....Well as someone that has overcome great adversity (broken spine ) and lost many to cancer father, grand parents and needed treatment for cancer then my answer can only be.. why not? Why not, because cancer is all around us and it needs stopping!  (Did I mention I was crazy? ha!) ….But this is only half the story and generally simplifies a little too much ...

The truth of the matter is that although I have not directly been afflicted with Cancer, Cancer …. this awful word...  has had such a profound affect upon my life in such a way that it makes it difficult to erase, to forget or to let go.  We all have our own methods of dealing with pain and loss, we grieve, we suffer, we compartmentalise and hope that when people say that time is a great healer, that this may be true to help us find relief, find comfort.... When cancer takes loved ones it's devastating, but when the date of passing falls on a date that would generally promote fun and happiness, it makes it very difficult for all concerned... for how can you promote happiness when others suffer around you? How do you do this without the feeling of guilt?

In the case of myself, In my final year of school I found out that my beloved grandfather, the person I turned to at every corner and looked up to had lung cancer. This awful disease tore through his lungs and chest and left him looking like a scene from alien.. he had become ill over the Christmas and by the February, on the eve of my birthday he had died...  At 15 with everything ahead of me he had gone...

A few years later, my beloved grandmother went into hospital feeling poorly .. it felt like she went in feeling poorly and came out with ovarian cancer … we brought her home in the December and on Christmas Eve while we were at a church nativity she passed away... My grandparents had always played such an important part In my life and now they were gone...

Christmas and birthdays would never have quite the same sentiment anymore...

Many years after that my beloved Dad was diagnosed with Mesothelioma  .. Unknowingly he had had this cancer since a young man and now in his 60's he had gotten ill...  he was a strong man and fought it well.... but eventually cancer also took him … it wasn't kind..

He died before my sisters birthday and we buried him 2 days after mine..

So that is my story regarding cancer; that is one of the reasons for this challenge.. the second is my understanding for the courage needed to overcome challenge.. Whatever shape or form that challenge presents itself as..

Before my Dad had become ill I had been unfortunate with my health.. in my early 30's I had an accident and severed all the nerves and tendons in my left arm... losing all feeling and mobility and being told I would never regain movement...

Then a few years later I needed an operation on my spine for bulging discs.. what should have been a routine operation went wrong and I was left crippled and flat on my back for 6 months... over time I fought this and grew stronger to return to the old me... 

It was only a couple of years after that that I was involved in a freak accident on holiday in Turkey where I fell from a great height and broke my spine.. I spent 16 days in and out of intensive care, received a blood transfusion and learned to walk again.. the doctors had said it was a miracle that I wasn't paralysed, it was a tough time... and the titanium pinned and caged to my spine would be a reminder for life.. 

When I reflect, the doctors at the time had said that my core strength had been so strong that the muscles had physically helped to protect me... and I do believe they did, but I also believe in the power of the mind … when you set your goals high you can and will achieve...you can become stronger... I had overcome all ,, they had doubted I would regain mobility and fitness…But I had regained all .. I had full use of hand and arm movement and could walk as I had .. fit and healthy...

So with this in mind I decided the time was right to challenge myself … To regain my fitness and do something positive.. To feel good about being part of this bigger picture to fund the specialised nurses who have treated my family members and many others who have been diagnosed with cancer. 

So that's my story... Semi compartmentalised but always there to remind me of what makes me.... me....   

Ok, so returning to the light hearted moi that generalises, simplifies and jokes too much...  I'd like to end this by saying :

So come and join me on my crazy journey by donating to such a worthy cause.. my part (getting fit) is only the half of it.. I need you guys to help me achieve my goal to complete this.. to raise funds to provide for specialist nurses who support those directly afflicted with cancer and their families...  for one day that need could be for us....

So thank you for taking the time to read this and for any donation you can make.. Let's kick cancer where it hurts!

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.