Peter's Story

Peter was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis about 20 years ago when he was living life to the full.  He had recently moved to New Zealand and was leading a busy active life.  Balance and muscle fatigue caused Peter to visit the hospital, where scans and a lumbar puncture revealed this debilitating illness - the beginning of a long emotional fight for Peter and our family.

Over the next few years, Peter was given various drugs and even tried pioneering brain surgery in an effort to control the tremors that had started to affect his everyday life.  He had visits to hospitals in Oxford, London and Romford all in an effort to stem the progression of deterioration in his life.

Peter's last few years were spent living back home at the nursery where he had enjoyed his childhood.  He had an annex that was adapted to his needs, but according to Peter's brilliant sense of humour, when ever asked where he lived, he'd say he lived 'in the garage!'.

Peter had a love for travel and while it was still possible, friends and carers would take him abroad and closer to home to Centre Parcs and Butlins.  Chelsea Football Club was another passion of his and he would wear his football shirt whilst watching their matches on tv.

The final couple of years were the hardest for Peter and us as a family. Several spells of being in and out of hospital took its toll on Peter's quality of life and he gave up his battle peacefully on the 8th April 2015. We cannot express enough how much Peter was loved by all who knew him and we are so very proud by the dignified way he handled this cruel illness, with never a moan, just a smile.  We will miss him so very much.

Peter would have given anything to try new drugs/treatments to help with the symptoms/possible cure of MS and we would like to raise money in his memory for this worthy charity to help alleviate the pain and suffering of others.  Thank you for reading Peter's story.

George, Jill, John, Fiona, Joe, Hannah, Sam and Sasha

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.