Thanks for visiting my fundraising page for Macmillan.

This May 2023, I am going to be hiking a marathon along the beautiful North Norfolk coastline to raise money for people living with cancer. I have pledged to raise £300 and would appreciate any support in reaching this. 

This is my 5th marathon and once again I'll be walking in memory of my dad Ted, my mum Iris, my sister in law Sharon and too many friends and family that have been affected by cancer.  Please take a few minutes to read my story below to understand my motivation for raising money for Macmillan. 

In the summer of 2011 life was simple, life was good. I'd recently moved into a new home, my husband had a new job after being made redundant, I had a job I loved, my son had settled into primary school and my family were here to provide support and love as always.  Dad was enjoying retirement, helping with our childcare in between his busy social life of golf, horse racing, bowls, darts, golf and more golf. Little did we know what was on the horizon.

It started with small signs, to be honest we all ignored them for while. Dad, always a big eater at our family summer BBQ's was leaving that last rib or sausage saying he felt bloated, he laughed saying it was his age, 71 no age. Within weeks his portions at dinner got less and less and he was obviously losing weight.  He blamed it on his diabetes but I started to worry and made him visit the GP who ordered blood tests. That's when my world fell apart. Within a week dad was having scans and as an ex-smoker they thought it was lung cancer, that's where they found the first spots. However, dad collapsed and that's when they discovered a mass in his liver and further tests showed it was in fact bowel cancer that has spread. With Chemo they hoped to give him 18 months, all he asked was for the Drs to get him back onto the golf course one last time!

The chemo took its toll and he become weak very quickly, housebound and reliant on others for the first time in his life. That's when we contacted Macmillan as well as the local hospice and asked for help, of course they were there for us, supporting us as well as dad.  The chemo was making him so unwell they made the decision to stop it but we knew what that meant, less time and no golf. We celebrated his 72nd birthday at his golf club in the November but at the same time we were also having conversations about end of life care, it felt so unreal. By the end of month he was in hospital with plans being made to transfer to the local hospice.  His brother Jim visited from Wales to say his goodbyes, they were like two peas in a pod them two and so hard on them both knowing what was coming.   In a cruel twist 2 days later I got a phone call, Jim had passed away, how was I going to tell dad. Dad died in the hospice 8 days later.  We said our final goodbyes to Jim and a few days later our final goodbyes to dad, our hope was they're playing golf together again in a better place.

Anyone who knew me then knows I didn't do exercise but I completed my first Moonwalk marathon 6 months later in memory of dad. A few years passed and we sadly lost my sister in law to cancer, too young.  So I completed my second Moonwalk marathon, but told my husband never again at the end of that one!

But as my 50th approached a new challenge was needed and then I saw the Mighty Hike advertised. Great no walking over night with this one and the Thames Path looked like a great option so training started. Again little did I know what was round the corner. My mum had been disabled for years, COPD, kidney disease and living with endometrial cancer but the treatment was working at slowing the growth so all stable. It all started at the beginning of the year with a blood clot in her heart and we were yoyoing in and out of hospital for months.  Everything started to go downhill. As summer approached she was trying to rally but in July her kidneys were playing up again and back in hospital she went.  I was exhausted but determined to walk so off I set on the train to Windsor. Wow, what a great day, what a great experience, well apart from the blisters that meant I cried for most of the last 3miles, and there were more than a few tears as I crossed the line remembering dad and thinking of mum. Once more I said never again!  

I took the medal to show mum and the Drs said she would be coming home on Thursday, happy days. On the Tuesday my son and I took in ice creams and cake as Wednesday was his 14th birthday, she was so proud of her grandson. Her bag was packed and she was going home again. She didn't make it home, she died in the early hours of that Thursday, we were by her side as Sepsis took her. 

So time to walk for mum.  Covid meant the 2020 marathon at Dedham Vale was cancelled but after all the struggles that lockdown bought to my own mental health, it made walking in her memory even more poynient in 2021, there were many tears on that day. 

Through all these difficult times there is hope to hold on to. I have friends that have had their own cancer journeys and won the battle, so for that, I am thankful.

This year I don't feel I need a reason to walk, I just feel I should because I can so here we are again one step at a time.  Whether my story resonates with your own life story or not I'm hoping during these hard times you can help me reach my target for this brilliant charity that are there for us all when we need it most.