Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page

As most of you know I lost my Mum to leukaemia in February this year.  My Mum was diagnosed with leukaemia in August 2014, and bravely fought for 18 months, but unfortunately leukaemia won in the end. 

One of the things you realise when you know someone that's going through something like this is that they do not get to use the 18 months to do everything they ever wanted to do.  My Mum spent over 10 months during this period confined to a room in the hospital while her immunity system was reduced to nothing due to the chemotherapy treatment.  This included spending events like Christmas day, her wedding anniversary and birthday in hospital.  Even when she was at home she was not allowed to visit places with large amounts of people, so days/evening outs were very limited.  During this time she always stayed so strong and never complained, she just got on with things.

One of the toughest days was when my Mum was told that the chemotherapy and stem cell transplant, that she had fought so hard during, had not worked.  She was not expecting this news so she had not asked for any company for the appointment!  Imagine being told that you had only weeks to live and had no one to turn to for immediate comfort.  Unfortunately the diagnosis of weeks to live and on this occasion was correct.  Watching my Mum over this period was hard for everyone, but especially her.  When she finally left us, it left a big whole in our family that we are still trying to fill.  I think about her every day and wish there was something I could have done, but sometimes there isn’t, and the world seems a very cruel place.

The reason for this post is that I would like to use an event that I’m taking part in to raise some funds for a North Hampshire hospital charity as a thank you for all the help my Mum and our family received.

I’ve signed up for a Centurion Running event called the Autumn 100.  As the name suggests it’s a 100 mile event, run over 2 days with a 28 hour cut off.  As most of you have seen my running experience and distances have grown drastically since my first parkrun on 11th January 2014. I’ve gone on from parkrun to 10k, to half marathon and full marathon.  Then last year I made the decision to go further, Ultra marathons.  So far I’ve managed to complete two 50 mile events, the SDW50 and NDW50, and then on to my furthest distance of 63 miles as part of the event ‘Race to the Stones’.

As you can see the challenge I have set myself is a massive jump from anything I have ever completed before.  Jumping from 63 miles up to a 100 mile event brings in added difficulty of running for 24 hours including through the night.  I’ve heard many story’s of failed attempts at 100 mile events including things like vomiting, hallucinations and peeing blood to name but a few.  This is going to take the same determination that my Mum showed during her treatment.  I carry her wedding ring on a chain around my neck as a reminder of her and I know she will be looking down on me.

http://www.centurionrunning.com/races/autumn-100-2016

I’ve chosen to support a charity based within North Hampshire Hospital as the care she received there was amazing.  The nurses within the Wessex ward got to know my Mum very well, and at times were only company my Mum had while in isolation.

Also being a charity within our local hospital means that your donation will go to help people in need within our local community.

http://www.hampshirehospitals.nhs.uk/about-us/fundraising/north-hampshire-medical-fund.aspx

I’d like to tell you all that your donation will mean that no one will ever have to go through what my Mum went through, but unfortunately that’s not the case.  Obviously nothing can bring my Mum back, but should a family member or friend fall ill and require treatment at the North Hampshire hospital, then your donation may go a little to help their treatment.

I’ve never asked for any donations for all the events I’ve done in the past, and I’m unlikely to ask in the future so please give donating some thought.  Hopefully you agree that what my Mum went through, the charity I'm supporting, and the toughness of the challenge are all worthy of a donation.  There is no minimum amount that I am trying to raise, so the donation amount is up to you.

Thank you all for reading my Mum’s story and I hope you support my challenge.

Thanks, Mike