Dear everyone,

This page is here because every year The Princess Alice Hospice needs to raise more than £8 million to offer free hospice or at-home end of life care to thousands of people like my dad and they recieve almost no money from the government to do it.  For obvious reasons it's an extremely hard job.  Without donations they would be unable to continue their incredible care and support work and by taking on the Appalachian Trail this year we are hoping to raise tons of awareness for the work they do and also some much needed funds for a really good cause! H&F x

Please read on for my dad's story and for information on The Appalachian Trail and how to follow our adventure:

 

About my dad

My father's name was Dr. Christopher G.N. Whittingham. He was born on the 14th of April 1949 and died on the 8th of August 2012 aged just 63.

He was initially diagnosed with colon cancer in March 2007 and had an operation soon after to remove the affected area.  Despite seemingly endless bouts of chemotherapy and yet more operations the vicious and sneaky disease was eventually too much.  

That my dad fought against it so strongly for 5 years is testament enough to his love of life and the people around him and never did he cease to choose life at every turn.  Of the many things he achieved during this time, one of his proudest was starting his own I.T. support business which he named "The Computer Shed" and ran from the shed at the end of our garden with much success. Much to his own amusement, on the Computer Shed business cards it listed one Dr. Semi-Colon as the proprietor.

When his condition worsened significantly in June 2012 we were presented with a choice as to whether we wanted to move dad to Princess Alice Hospice in Esher or to have them care for him at home with us for what turned out to be the last two months.  We took the big decision as a family for him to stay at home and as the eldest of 3 brothers I left my job so that I could be in the house with him, fetch anything he needed and answer the door to the nurses.

I owe so much to being able to spend that precious time with my best friend in the world to everyone at Princess Alice.  Without their at-home care and support we would not have been able to spend that time together as a family or been able for him to retain cohesion and comfort through the familiarity of his surrounds.

He was a wonderful man, one of life's uncompromisingly original people, a true gentle-man and someone who I miss every day.  I can't really express fully in words how grateful I am to Princess Alice or how proud I will be to support their cause as I walk with my girlfriend Fran along the crest of the Appalachian mountains this year.

 

About The Appalachian Trail 

The some 2,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail (AT) are walked along in some capacity by many millions of people each year.  The natural beauty and preserved wildlife habitats along its path offer some of the most rugged and awe-inspiring scenery anywhere in North America.  People hike for the weekend, up and down specific peaks, for prolonged sections or, in the case of roughly 3000 people per year, attempt a North-bound "thru-hike" of the entire trail in one go.  Taking roughly 5-6 months to complete and with a near 90% drop out rate it is a supremely difficult mental and physical challenge.  Covering an exceptionally varied spectrum of terrain, from crumbling rock ascents, to hundreds of miles of low-lands, river crossings and steep winding descents the overall climb is the equivalent of 16 Mount Everests.   

Preparations are well under way and flights are booked.  On the 5th of March 2014 the adventure begins and you can follow the journey to Mount Katahdin in Maine here on our wordpress account. 

Find out more about the Appalachian Trail on Wikipedia

See the terrain on Mount Katahdin... *gulp*...here

Harry Whittingham