I'm hoping to generate some support and donations and run the Cardiff half marathon in Honour of my Dad, Ernie Mitchell. I'll be wearing the T-shirt with "Dad" on my back so he will be there with me all the way.

To those that don’t know, here is a bit of background. It would be warming to know that people could take the time to read and understand just a small part of my Dad’s journey. My mum lost her soulmate, best friend and adored husband. Of which, they have been together since teenagers, whilst my brothers and I lost our role model, hero, friend and Dad in February this year.

My Dad battled a rare and aggressive form of T-cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma from early 2018, of which was at an advanced stage from early in the process and was already present in organs and his bone marrow. It was absolutely heart breaking for all the family but my Dad’s optimism, fight, willingness to put others first along with his infectious humour, never waned. Whilst numerous harsh chemotherapies were endeavoured over a period of approximately 6 months, the worst news imaginable came to our family on November 5^th. The full scan reported that the Lymphoma had in fact got worse. I’ll never forget that phone call from my Dad.

Despite the continued determination, fight, grit and braveness through the harshest of several chemo treatments, my Dad always put the thoughts and love to his family before anything else. He put us before him constantly and anyone who knows my father well enough would understand this. Even before and after the chemotherapy,
countless visits were made to the hospital for blood transfusions and platelet transfusions, effectively keeping him with us. We must thank Singleton hospital
cancer wards as all staff there were the most supportive and understanding
people you could have wished to look after loved ones. He grew wings peacefully,
surrounded by his loving family in our family home.

He is the most thoughtful, caring, family-oriented man I know but at the same time the most determined, bravest, strongest, toughest Dad we could ever have looked up too. Our family continued to do anything for him and would continue to do
anything for him.

Our mum is truly inspirational and looked after him until the very end. The love they have for each other is something that everyone strives for in life. The
great memories we all share must be cherished. We are lucky to have such a
strong figure in our lives and my mum will always have small parts of my Dad in
my brothers and I.

I want to input this reading from “The Amber Spyglass” as it’s a reading that Charlotte and I had read out at our wedding and it feels too meaningful not to share on here.

“I will love you forever; whatever happens. Till I die and after I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I’ll drift about forever, all my atoms, till I find you again… I’ll be looking for you, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we’ll cling together so tight that nothing and no one’ll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you… We’ll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams… And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me.”

Thanks for supporting my fundraising. Macmillan cancer support is here to
help everyone with cancer live life as fully as they can. MacMillan also help all affected by cancer which is why I’m raising for them this year.

Adam Mitchell