Polly Baines - VLM 2019
Polly Baines is raising money for St Helena Hospice
In memory of Thomas Glover
Story
Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
I have been lucky enough to have been selected by St Helena Hospice to take one of their golden bond places for the Virgin London Marathon 2019.
Why did I apply? Well........
My father, Tom Glover was just the most wonderful father and grandfather to my children. I and my family have been fortunate enough to have always been loved by him.
He was cruelly taken away from his loving family at the age of 69 on the 3rd May 2018 after a diagnosis of the rare and silent Bile Duct Cancer of the Liver in July 2017. He was always such a strong and healthy man who had so much to live for. He was loved and respected so much by all who knew him.
He put up a strong and dignified fight through 6 months of chemotherapy following an operation that removed a third of his liver. However, on the 6th March 2018 (I remember it well as it was the day after my 38th birthday) he was told that the chemotherapy although had controlled the cancer to start with was now having no effect and that there was nothing more that could be done. Once the hope had left my father, he didn't even last 8 weeks. He died at home with my mother, my brother and myself with him. It has been a life changing experience for many reasons.
I have chosen to run the Virgin London Marathon 2019 for St Helena Hospice because I have wanted to do something good out of all of this sadness. My father was my biggest supporter throughout my whole life, we had a shared passion for athletics (amongst many other things) as I grew up. The VLM is a challenge that I have always wanted to undertake but until now I haven't been brave enough to accept the challenge. I accept it now for my father, for my family and for those families who will need St Helena Hospice in their future.
During those short weeks after my father was told his illness was terminal, St Helena Hospice was an incredible support to my parents and to myself. The support, experienced ear, help and guidance that we received on a regular basis was incredibly important to help us through those difficult weeks. The comfort of knowing they were at the end of a telephone immediately night and day was a vital service that we relied on as a family. No queuing, no explaining ourselves every time, just professional high class help when we needed it the most. Always there and so experienced when we felt so helpless and inexperienced.
My father’s diagnosis would have been even more frightening and lonely for us all without the support of St Helena Hospice. It is incredibly important and you just never know when you are going to need it. I admit myself that I never thought it would happen to us.
In terms of actually running the marathon, I have no experience with that kind of distance. In fact, if I am completely honest, I probably haven't done any regular fitness since the birth of my first son in 2009! So to say this is a challenge for me is probably an understatement. So couch to marathon it is! Apparently it can be done and I am here to prove it! However hard my journey will be to the start line in April 2019 (and I expect it to be pretty gruelling and at times desperate) it will be nothing in comparison to what my father faced in the last year of his life and what my mother now faces in a world without him after 45 years of a loving marriage.
Thank you for reading about my family's story. Cancer affects too many loved ones and it is when such a tragic and heartbreaking diagnosis is given you truly come to appreciate the help from organisations such as St Helena Hospice.
Any donation, even £1 will help towards this vital service.
Thank you, Polly xxxx
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
I have been lucky enough to have been selected by St Helena Hospice to take one of their golden bond places for the Virgin London Marathon 2019.
Why did I apply? Well........
My father, Tom Glover was just the most wonderful father and grandfather to my children. I and my family have been fortunate enough to have always been loved by him.
He was cruelly taken away from his loving family at the age of 69 on the 3rd May 2018 after a diagnosis of the rare and silent Bile Duct Cancer of the Liver in July 2017. He was always such a strong and healthy man who had so much to live for. He was loved and respected so much by all who knew him.
He put up a strong and dignified fight through 6 months of chemotherapy following an operation that removed a third of his liver. However, on the 6th March 2018 (I remember it well as it was the day after my 38th birthday) he was told that the chemotherapy although had controlled the cancer to start with was now having no effect and that there was nothing more that could be done. Once the hope had left my father, he didn't even last 8 weeks. He died at home with my mother, my brother and myself with him. It has been a life changing experience for many reasons.
I have chosen to run the Virgin London Marathon 2019 for St Helena Hospice because I have wanted to do something good out of all of this sadness. My father was my biggest supporter throughout my whole life, we had a shared passion for athletics (amongst many other things) as I grew up. The VLM is a challenge that I have always wanted to undertake but until now I haven't been brave enough to accept the challenge. I accept it now for my father, for my family and for those families who will need St Helena Hospice in their future.
During those short weeks after my father was told his illness was terminal, St Helena Hospice was an incredible support to my parents and to myself. The support, experienced ear, help and guidance that we received on a regular basis was incredibly important to help us through those difficult weeks. The comfort of knowing they were at the end of a telephone immediately night and day was a vital service that we relied on as a family. No queuing, no explaining ourselves every time, just professional high class help when we needed it the most. Always there and so experienced when we felt so helpless and inexperienced.
My father’s diagnosis would have been even more frightening and lonely for us all without the support of St Helena Hospice. It is incredibly important and you just never know when you are going to need it. I admit myself that I never thought it would happen to us.
In terms of actually running the marathon, I have no experience with that kind of distance. In fact, if I am completely honest, I probably haven't done any regular fitness since the birth of my first son in 2009! So to say this is a challenge for me is probably an understatement. So couch to marathon it is! Apparently it can be done and I am here to prove it! However hard my journey will be to the start line in April 2019 (and I expect it to be pretty gruelling and at times desperate) it will be nothing in comparison to what my father faced in the last year of his life and what my mother now faces in a world without him after 45 years of a loving marriage.
Thank you for reading about my family's story. Cancer affects too many loved ones and it is when such a tragic and heartbreaking diagnosis is given you truly come to appreciate the help from organisations such as St Helena Hospice.
Any donation, even £1 will help towards this vital service.
Thank you, Polly xxxx
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.