Henry and woody, their cousins Carla and Tom and myself are taking part in Tour de Moor to raise as much money as we can for St Luke's in memory of Mat.

Mat was the most amazing husband, daddy, son, brother, uncle, colleague, team-mate and friend. He was diagnosed with an aggressive brain Tumour (Glioblastoma) in early 2015 and died, aged just 42, on 24th August 2016 following a courageous battle with a truly cruel disease. Mat loved his boys more than anything (even cars!!) and was hugely proud of them. It is truly heart-breaking that he won't get the chance to see them grow up and that they have to grow up without him. We love him so much and he is missed every single day.

The boys were just 4 and 2 when Mat was in Turnchapel but despite this they have many positive memories of his time there. They want to raise money for St Luke's and have been nagging for a few years to take part in Tour de Moor.... So finally I signed us up!

St Luke's provide an invaluable service and almost all of the money needed to fund their incredible work is raised through fundraising. The pandemic has undoubtedly had a huge impact on them as their major fundraising events had to be cancelled as well as their shops being temporarily closed. More than ever they need our support.

Please help us to raise as much money as we can in memory of Mat. Any donations will be hugely appreciated.

Thank you in advance,

Henry, Woody and Kath xxx

Some of the things St Luke's did for us.....

They were there for us when we needed them. I am not sure how we would have got through it all without them. I will be forever grateful for what they did for Mat, myself and the boys.

Mat had several stays in Derriford and whilst there, they offered him the emotional support that he was so desperate for as he faced the prospect of not seeing his boys grow up. 

They equipped our home with things we needed to facilitate Mat being able to stay at home as long possible.

Mat spent his final few months in Turnchapel as it had become impossible to look after him safely at home. Everything was done to ensure that he was as comfortable and pain free as possible. 

Mat was given his own room for his own privacy being so young, and also so we could have privacy as a family. It meant that when the boys visited they could happily play without us worrying about disturbing other people. Despite it being a completely horrific time in our lives, we were given the chance to spend lots of quality family time together and make some special memories.

Mat had family or friends with him most of the time but at night when he often couldn't sleep, the nurses would sit with him and keep him company or make him late night snacks.

Some of the staff helped us to put on a party for Father's day and on other days craft activities were provided and supervised for the boys. A paddling pool and inflatable dinosaurs were even purchased so that we could enjoy spending time together as a family outside. Although Mat was so very ill by this point, he was wheeled out in his bed and he loved to hear the boys having fun.

The small gestures on particularly bad days, such as a slice of cake and cup of tea or the offer of a listening ear, made such a huge difference to me. People had noticed it was a bad day and they cared which means an awful lot when you are going through what we were going through.

We have been back a few times and are always made to feel so welcome and the boys are made to feel special.