Updated on Mar 9th 2012 at 5:34 AM from the JustGiving API

Trekking around Nepal for Macmillan Cancer in tribute to a friend I lost in 2010. Please read my justgiving page for more details and please sponsor me!! xxx

So there I was....a dark rainy morning in London, sitting on the tube on the way to the gym at 5am…I spotted an advert in the back of the Metro for a sponsored trek around Nepal for Macmillan Cancer. Generally I don't pay much attention to these adverts and skip straight past them, but that morning I knew that this advert was significant.

In 2010, one of my best friends Jeremy died in a plane crash. He had been my house mate when I lived in Cape Town and was always grinning from ear-to-ear. Jeremy trained as a doctor and had been spending the last 18 months travelling the globe, meeting local tribesmen/people and learning about their herbal medicine techniques. He then sold these products online, as a way to fund his travels. One of his dreams while being in the Himalayas was to go up Everest, and unfortunately when travelling there his plane crashed (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1305659/Nepal-plane-crash-British-trekker-Jeremy-Taylor-14-killed.html).

Jeremy was one of the most inspirational people I will ever be lucky enough to meet. He had an incredibly big heart, was beautiful on the inside and the outside (he used to model while studying), did everything he could to help people and lived every moment of every day like it was his last. The emotions that followed from his death were conflicting, one of ‘what a waste of such a talented man’, but then this over-riding feeling of awe. He knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life, and put all his energies into making his dreams come true. This lesson alone, has changed my life and for that I am eternally grateful for him and his parents for bringing him into this world.

So fast-forward to that rainy morning on the tube, and I knew that this would be my way of thanking Jeremy for all the things he has taught me. Thus in November 2012, I will be trekking around the Himalayas- saying my final goodbyes and raising money for a charity that is very close to my heart- Macmillan Cancer. This walk is not only for Jeremy, my nan who bought me up and sadly passed away a few years ago after over 30 years of working for cancer charities, but also for everyone that has been affected by cancer.

I am giving £1000 of my own money towards the sponsorship, but I need to make as much as possible- so please please do give generously. I will be running events throughout the year in the run-up to November, so if you want to keep updated about them please do email me: jessi_illes@hotmail.com.

Thank you in advance for all your help!

Jessi

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