Last year I agreed to take part in an event called “Tough Guy”, many of you who know me will be realising what a silly commitment this indeed was!! For those that don’t know, Tough Guy is a 15km assault course where only the elite expect to win, and most people are simply pleased to complete the course without drowning, freezing, spraining, burning, tripping or falling from height along the way. It’s described as “The Safest, Most Dangerous Event in the World”!!!

To see a video, go to www.toughguy.co.uk

Why bother…

A few years ago my Brother-in-Law (Ben, 31) got the medical “All Clear” following the removal of a melanoma (skin cancer) sometime previously. My sister and Ben where over the moon and started a family, I now have a beautiful 18 month old niece, Saskia (see family pic attached).

About 9 months ago Ben started getting back ache and during a routine check-up mentioned this to the doctor. They quickly got him scanned and were devastated when they found out the cancer had returned but this time it was in his brain, bones, lung, kidney, spleen and liver. Despite the outlook being so very bleak, Ben and Sally (my sister) soldiered on, putting up a great fight and never accepting the possibility of a negative outcome.

Over the following months Ben subjected his body to multiple bouts of radiotherapy, chemotherapy and some ground breaking trial vaccinations, to the extent that before Christmas both his head and torso were round with water retention. Ben had also suffered muscle wastage in his legs due to the steroids he was also taking, meaning he couldn’t walk unaided and eventually couldn’t even turn himself over in bed.

Worryingly on Christmas Eve, Ben had a seizure and was rushed to hospital. Over the following days he suffered another 3 seizures in hospital and after careful consideration Ben was moved to a Hospice between Christmas and New Year, for recuperation as he was seemingly out of immediate danger.

Sadly the battle ended for Ben on the morning of Thursday 3rd January as he peacefully passed away in his sleep.

Sally and Saskia still of course have everything to live for and have great support from friends and family members (like me).

Can I turn crazy into useful???

Doing this crazy assault course is pretty much meaningless if there is no purpose, I had a purpose, but now I have an even greater one!! I will attempt to complete the Tough Guy course on Sunday 27th January and complete the Blenheim, Bournemouth and London Triathlons during June, July and August. I did ask Ben at the end of last year whether there were any charities that had particularly helped him and to whom he’d like to return the favour, he chose Cancer Research UK and for their great care towards the end of Ben’s life I have added Pilgrims Hospice. I have therefore set up two Just Giving pages so my crazy antics can have a worthwhile and greater purpose.

Whilst our contributions alone, will not find the cure for Cancer, step by step and penny by penny we can all make a difference, and help the fight to beat cancer. Please click on either of the links below to generously donate some of your hard earned cash and help me raise some much needed funds for both of these great charities in memory of Ben.

Cancer Research UK

https://www.justgiving.com/David-Austin4

Pilgrims Hospice

https://www.justgiving.com/David-Austin5

Thank you for reading as far as you have, and I really hope you can help me raise as much as possible for these very worthy causes.

If you would like to know more about Ben, his experiences with Dr’s, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and generally living with cancer, he wrote a very funny and informative blog during his last year, click on this link to read more…. http://meandmyunwelcomevisitors.com/

Ps. If you’d like to join me in any of these activities, there is still space available!!!