Every wife, child and grand-child close to their family all has one thing in common. Their husband is the love of their life......Dad is the best Dad in the world, Granddad is the best ever..... this is how my Nana (Dorothy), Mum (Chrissy) and my brothers and sisters feel about my Granddad. This is just a couple of us.... I like to think he was a valued friend to many people.

On 28 February 2009 Granddad was diagnosed with Motor Neurones Disease. None of us knew anything about this disease let alone heard of it. After friends, family, and friends of friends that have been lost to cancer my Granddad said ‘I’m just glad it’s not cancer’, we had all seen the devastation which cancer causes. As the weeks progressed we all learnt that the reality was much worse than any of us imagined. (You can visit www.mndassociation.org for more information on MND). Granddad was doing well, not giving up hope..... until one day he went to the garage to work on his beloved vintage motor bikes, he realised his hands were now very little use to him. I remember my Nana crying, and telling me of that day. My Granddad began to cry in the kitchen looking down at his hands which had become ‘claw like’ and his fingers were all closing in. Granddad felt he could be no use to anyone, and the sad truth was that it broke his heart not being able to work on his bikes. Anyone who knows Granddad Don will know bikes were his passion and the second love of his life next to my Nana. Granddad loved many things, his kids, his grand children, our animals, chilli con carne.... haha. My Granddad’s heart was broken and he gave up sooner than we hoped he would. However I never blamed him for this and before the end, as much as we would all be devastated and heartbroken to lose him we didn’t want his suffering to be long and drawn out.

28 February 2009, we received that news which we didn’t realise would be so life changing. Granddad never saw another 28 February. The picture you see on my fundraising page of my Nana and Granddad is their 50 Wedding Anniversary; this picture was 12 September 2009, though their actual anniversary is 14 September. 16 weeks and 5 days later my Granddad sadly passed away. This was a tough time for all of us. This day, 7 January 2010 was my brother, Jonny’s, birthday. We had also just attended the funeral of my beloved Nana Gwen (my Dad’s Mum) who had devastatingly passed away peacefully on Christmas Eve.  Life can be cruel and we come through it fighting. However I know ‘things could always be worse’ and I know that people out there have been through more than my family and are in a much worse position. I miss my Granddad every day. I sometimes cry but mainly I laugh and smile at remembering Granddad. Everyone has a funny story about him. Rather than mourn his loss I try and celebrate his life and what he gave.

In 2015 I will be trekking over 150km of Mongolia on horseback. I am saving up to fund this myself so hopefully all YOUR pennies will go directly to the charity.  My amazing horse Sparky will be helping me train for this as I will be faced with 6 hours a day in the saddle (ouch). I will be setting myself targets to do fun and silly dare’s as I raise the money. I will be going out in fancy dress all over the place so if any one sees me, please just spare a pound. My dear friend Stephen Scott (photographer) will be photographing my fundraising journey to share with you as well as evidence my dare’s.

I got in touch with MND association soon after Granddad’s diagnosis. Their support was invaluable.  As Granddad was Nana’s carer they paid for and installed a stair lift, more for Nana than for Granddad, to make everybody’s life easier and safer. They visited Granddad and held meetings to offer support and encouragement.  So please...... let’s help people make the best of a dreadful situation. I want you to help me give something back..... the world we live in can be cruel and hurtful. I want to inspire and show people that we care and people care, and that we can all make tiny acts of kindness that will have a huge positive impact for more people than you realise.

 

Thank you for your time reading this. Happiness, love and laughter to you all

 

 

Love, Jenny xxx

 

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