Florence Crabtree
Patrick's Memorial Walk
Fundraising for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity
Story
On Easter Monday, April 18th my father Patrick sadly died from complications as a result of his oesophageal cancer. It was almost exactly a year since he was diagnosed. This walk was originally planned when he was alive and still being treated, and the plan was that he would be able to join us. We now hope that my wonderful and much loved Dad will be with us in spirit at both the walk & the gatherings afterwards where his friends and family and all of those who loved him will celebrate a life well lived. He endured so much over the past year with stoicism and wry humour and this walk is now a tribute to his memory.
Event Details
On Sunday 1st & Monday 2nd May 2022 I will be walking a total of 35 miles along the river Thames to increase awareness of oesophageal cancer and raise money for the oesophageal cancer fund 0068 at the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. I would love you to join me for part or all of the walk or simply donate.
So while I will be walking, you can cycle, jog or run, whatever you prefer and if you want to bring your dog, please do. You can complete 1 mile or 35 or anything in between, it will just be brilliant for my family to see you taking part.
I was originally aiming to raise £10,000 for the wonderful team at the Royal Marsden Hospital who have been treating him over the past year and to allow more ground-breaking research to be carried out into this dreadful disease. However due to everyone’s incredible generosity I am now trying to raise as much money as possible. All and any donations, small or large are massively appreciated and thank you so much to everyone who has already donated. This is now even more important as we increasingly realise how cruel and difficult to treat this cancer is and how much more money needs to be spent on researching more effective treatments.
If you're planning to join, please email me at florence.crabtree@gmail.com and we'd love to see you there.
Patrick’s Cancer Journey
In April 2021 my dad Patrick was diagnosed with incurable stage 3 oesophageal cancer. He had very few symptoms at the time and before then I'd never even heard of this form of cancer.
At the time of his diagnosis we were told this was a "serious" and "challenging" form of cancer which was going to be extremely difficult to treat. We have sadly discovered what this actually meant and it has been a terrible year for all of us who loved him.
Cancer is now the number 1 cause of premature death in the UK and 1 in 2 of us will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during our lifetime.
Oesophageal cancer is now the 7th most likely form of cancer to cause death, and we found out on Monday that 90% of people will die within 6 months of diagnosis.
A year ago my dad was the fittest of men for his age. He was playing tennis twice a week, Chairman of Barnes Tennis Club, a Vice President of Barnes Rugby Football Club, running a successful business, an acknowledged expert on the BBQ & enthusiastic canal-boater and was leading a fulfilling, happy and very active life. He always had a beaming smile on his face.
Last Summer, he was enrolled in a clinical immunotherapy trial at the Royal Marsden hospital but, after four different types of treatment that proved unsuccessful, this year he started another type of chemotherapy in order to try and prevent the further growth of his tumour and at last we had some good news that the chemo was finally starting to work.
Unfortunately after suffering for 5 months, with various life threatening symptoms including blood clots, bed sores, internal bleeding and numerous lung and chest infections, the cancer metastasised, and sadly he contracted bronchial pneumonia which ended his life.
So because of this, I am raising money for the oesophageal cancer fund at the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity which, as many of you will know is at the forefront of pioneering and continuous development of cancer treatment. Not only have they provided him with treatment, he has also experienced the highest level of care possible and we are incredibly grateful to the doctors, dedicated nurses and all of the staff who despite everything, made us feel hopeful.
We would also like to mention other hospitals and organisations who treated him, namely St Helier, Sutton, St Georges, Tooting, The Royal Marsden, Chelsea, Princess Alice Hospice, Esher and the District Nursing team.
A special mention to the paramedic team who are always amazing and finally, Charing Cross Hospital who looked after him twice after emergency trips and particularly the ICU unit. They managed his end of life care in the best way possible including letting us blast out Eric Clapton's greatest hits, his favourite artist and someone he was often mistaken for (and on one occasion Eric was mistaken for Patrick by the local dry cleaner!)
Information for both days (Sunday & Monday)We plan to walk from Weybridge to Westminster via Barnes which we will do over two days, in various stages, with numerous pub stops/meeting places along the way.
Day 1:
- Meeting Point: In Weybridge at The Minnow, KT13 8NG (or Weybridge station if you need a lift) at 9-9.30am for a coffee, then walking along the Thames, with stops at Hampton Court, The Anglers, Teddington, TW11 9NR and Richmond riverside ending at The Coach and Horses in Barnes High Street (18 miles)
- Timing: meeting between 9-9.30am, finishing by 4/5pm with stops for a drink or food at pubs at the places mentioned above, with a reservation at the Coach & Horses pub in Barnes to finish day one
- If you want to do half the day, I would recommend meeting us at The Anglers, TW11 9NR where I have reserved a space in the garden where they have a BBQ between 1-2pm roughly so do meet us there if you're unable to join for the whole day.
- If you are unable to walk but want to join in and celebrate his life then come and join us at the function room at the back of the Coach and Horses pub, SW13 9LW in Barnes where we spent a lot of happy times, mum will be there from 5pm onwards and people will be joining as they finish their walk.
We will have a shuttle (Bobby & friends) between Weybridge station and the starting point to pick anyone up who wants to join from the beginning, so please do let me know if you will need this and what time you will be arriving. They will be wearing Marsden t-shirts.
Day 2:
- Meeting Point: Barnes Rugby Club, Queen Elizabeth Walk, Barnes then walking along the Thames via Battersea Park, crossing Chelsea Bridge, walking up to Westminster Bridge and returning back via the North Side of the river to Putney Bridge and then walking back to Barnes Rugby Club. (16.5 miles)
- As people will be walking at different paces and potentially doing shorter loops, we thought it would be nice to meet at the Duke's Head, Putney Bridge for a pint and then try and walk the last section along the river together. This should be from around 2.30-3pm depending on people's timings.
- For anyone who would like to do a shorter loop, please feel free to cross over any of the earlier bridge or do a route that suits you. The key thing is to hopefully to join for some drinks at the clubhouse afterwards to remember the good times!
- Timing: meet at 9-9.30am for a bacon sandwich at Barnes RFC before starting at 10am and ending at whatever time people finish.
- If you want to join us for a drink for Patrick then please come and meet us at the Barnes RFC clubhouse, Queen Elizabeth Walk, London SW13 0DG from 4pm onwards.
So you can do the whole thing, or you can join for some of it, meeting at the stops mentioned and at the end of the walk we will gather in Barnes at the end of both days for some food and drinks.
We hope to see as many of you there as possible with your walking shoes at the ready to remember what a great man my dad, Patrick was.