Another year has passed, and as a fellow patient recently said, “I’m still here!”.

What else can I do then, but to celebrate this gift by helping AN get the support to other fellow patients that need it? To do my bit, so they will be able to say too “I’m still here” and never a moment too soon!

I will celebrate the occasion by taking the relay from my friend Lisa. She was the runner of the two of us; I’m just the (lazy) apprentice. We shared the same diagnosis. What are the chances to meet one of the other 26 patients that get this diagnosis in the UK every year… it in the same hospital, just a couple of weeks apart!

We also shared a wicked sense of humour even in dark moments. Lisa was a force of nature, relished in her life until the very end. Always looking to others (to me!), offering support and encouragement. She was my mentor and made me do something I felt out of my reach… when I had given up to my “reasons and worries.

And because of her I got to run my first-ever half-marathon!

This year we will run this GNR again together.

I will bring with me her jokes about my infamous headband, her encouragement to cheer me up. Her joy when we finished it!

It is now my turn.