12th June 2015
The passing of Stuart will have left a hole in many lives.  A man of strong-will and determination, whatever he put his mind to, he achieved.  For him, the excitement of starting and fulfilling a new project, throwing himself into his country pursuits and being around friends and family were all key things that kept him going and gave him a zest for life.

When he turned his attention to fund-raising, we shouldn't really have been surprised at the success he was going to make of it.   He probably could have raised funds in much simpler and less gruelling ways, but for Stuart the fund-raising events he took on were more of a personal crusade, a challenge that put two fingers up to cancer, made his mark in life, made his family so proud and gave back to the incredible team that supported him at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospital.  The hospital team provided ten extra years for Stuart to watch his children grow up, really experience and cherish life and fulfil many of the hopes and dreams he wanted, even if they have also been so cruelly and abruptly taken away. 

It seems fitting therefore that instead of flowers at the funeral, he would wish his final gift to be to Heads Up - the cause he felt so passionately about and which has been set up by the hospital for further research into head and neck cancer, and its treatment.

I would like to personally thank all those that joined Stuart in his fund-raising activities, either taking part themselves, sponsoring him, holding little fund raising events and for encouraging him during those times when he felt like giving up - you all know who you are and I very much hope that you can join us to celebrate the life of Stuart at his memorial service on 24th June, 2pm at the Lands End, Twyford.

Updated on Sep 11th 2011 at 1:10 PM from the JustGiving API

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

 

Back in August 2011 I decided to do something to draw attention to and raise as much money as I could for "HEADS UP"  the Head and Neck Cancer Research Charity, www.heads-up.org.uk .

 

I decided to walk the whole length of the Thames Path, from the source at Thames Head near Kemble in Gloucestershire to beyond the Thames Barrier at Crayford Ness in Kent. This is just over 195 miles (according to the gps app on my phone) and my goal was to complete the walk it in 10 days, which I achieved. To walk 20 miles with a backpack is fine, to do it the next day and the day after and so on, was a challenge. Thankfully, I had tremendous support from friends, family and strangers, who walked with me, gave me food and shelter and generally kept in contact to encourage my every step. We managed to get a lot of publicity for Heads Up too, via local media throughout the Thames Path area. Although at times during the walk, the sores, blisters and pains in the legs and feet, tested my resolve, I did enjoy the journey. It was worth every single step for lots of reasons.  I created a website for my Thames Walk which features a daily blog of the 10 day trip from the souce to sea.   http://web.me.com/stumpystu/headsupcampaign .

 

I am Stuart Gray, 41 years old, very happily married with 2 fabulous children aged 10 and 12. In August 2005 I was first diagnosed with an adenoid cystic carcinoma. This turned my world upside down. Dark thoughts and panic followed with the real fear of leaving my 2 beautiful children without a Dad. Surgery was followed by a very nauseous 6 week course of radiotherapy, but I made a recovery, continuing with regular check ups. In October 2010, disaster struck and the cancer had returned. Again the bottom fell out of my world, the dark thoughts and panic returned. I didnt know where this was going to take me this time so sold my business in order to put all my energy into the coming battle. As a result of major surgery in November and December, I lost part of the palate, cheekbone and my left eye, followed by plastic surgery (in surgeon language, a maxillectomy, tracheostomy and a free flap to the left orbital/sinonasal defect). The plastic surgeons have done an amazing job, though this did cause some discomfort to my thigh where they took the graft from. Most importantly I managed to keep my promise to the kids and was home earlier than expected, in time for Christmas. I continued to make a recovery thanks to the huge support from friends and family and the amazing ENT team at Oxford Radcliffe and Royal Berkshire Hospitals.

 

I figure its time for me to try and give something back. My reasons for trying to raise money for this charity are obvious. I hope you can find time to look at the amazing work that HEADS UP Head and Neck Cancer Research is doing ( www.heads-up.org.uk ) and can support them with a donation.

 

Also take a look at http://web.me.com/stumpystu/headsupcampaign  to see more details of my reasons for doing this and my daily plan for my walk and the daily blog written over the 10 day period. 

 

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