Back in November I took part in Pancreatic Cancer UK's Challenge 24 and ran 24 miles (ended up rounding up to 26.2 cause... too close not to!) to raise crucial funds and awareness for the charity in memory of my beaut of a dad, Frank. 

This year i've been lucky enough to be offered one of PCUK’s charity places in the London Marathon! I’m so thankful to be given such an amazing opportunity to help raise more money for a cause so close to my heart. 

It took my dad months to finally be given the formal diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer, & those waiting times, back & forths & delays are unfortunately very common, meaning that more than half the people diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer will die within 3 months. 

Those who knew my dad will know what a huge personality & huge person he was (there’s no denying the man loved his food & booze!), watching him visibly shrink before my eyes, unable to eat or drink was genuinely heartbreaking, & the speed at which it happened made it all the more unbelievable. There was no time to get our heads around the fact that he wouldn’t be coming home again, one day he was sat up & talking, there were talks of operations, treatments, chemo, the next we were doing all we could to keep him comfortable & sleeping in chairs at the side of his bed just listening for the next breath. It was horrendous, theres no other word for it. I wouldn’t wish those last 72 hours on anyone. I’ve slept with ear plugs in every night since when sleeping in the same room as someone else as I can’t bare to hear those deep sleepy breaths. 

As time passes it can seem like a bit of a fog hits & memories become less clear, those burst of tears become less frequent, & as every week, month & year passes I get more and more scared of forgetting.

This is why raising money & running in memory of my Dad means just SO much to me - it's helped me hugely in my struggle with grief, having something to focus on, an opportunity to talk about & remember my Dad & the knowledge that what i’m doing might help save someone else having to go through what we did. 

Please give all you can, every donation, no matter how small genuinely means the world & the more we can raise the bigger difference PCUK can make.

Thank you so much <3 

Carla x