Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. 

I am a trustee of a charity called The Smiley Smiley Josh Riley Foundation. The charity was approved by the Charity Commission in the autumn and we launched it in early November. We are looking to raise £135,000 to purchase and equip a luxury holiday lodge in the South Lake District for the use of adults between 18 and 40 years of age, who are undergoing treatment for cancer, for short breaks with their children and family. The complications of cancer treatment, such as the risk of infection, can make going on holiday abroad impossible, and very difficult even in this country.
The lodge will be equipped to meet the medical needs of those using it, and will be within one hour of a hospital should emergency help be needed.

Who is Josh Riley? Josh was my eldest daughter Laura's partner. They met when she was 16 years old and spent about 10 years
together. When he was 22 years old Josh was diagnosed with a very rare cancer in someone his age, at the back of his nose - nasopharyngeal cancer.

He was initially treated for a sinus infection by his G.P. and by the time his condition was diagnosed several months later, the
cancer had spread into the bones of his face. In doing so, his chances of survival fell from around 95% to less than 30%.

Josh endured horrifically aggressive chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy as a patient on the Young Oncology Unit at The
Christie Hospital in Manchester. It was during that time that the nurses nicknamed him Smiley Smiley Josh Riley for the way he put aside his own suffering to support and encourage his fellow patients on the ward with his positivity.

Josh's journey had ups and downs and false dawns, including a short, few months when he was declared free of cancer. Tragically,
a follow-up routine scan showed that although the tumour in his face had disappeared the cancer had spread to his lungs, which had dozens of small tumours growing in them.

Again, hope was raised when he initially responded well to his next rounds of chemotherapy, but there came the day when he was 25
years old, when he was told that the cancer was no longer being affected by the chemotherapy drugs and he had no prospect of recovery. His treatment from then on would be to try to keep the tumours in check for as long as possible

He took all of the setbacks and treatment in his stride and was truly inspirational in how he refused to let his cancer define him. Over the last 2 years of his life, he packed in a whole range of activities, experiences and visits, and we enjoyed a couple of holidays with
him and Laura in Portugal, along with his family. He regularly commented about how lucky he was to have made such lasting memories for his family during these times, and he was so thankful for living them. This is why the charity's aim is to provide short breaks and holidays for young adults finding themselves in the same position that Josh experienced.

As his health failed, he never lost his positivity and his concern for the well-being of others. He never once felt sorry for himself. 

On 18th November 2015, Josh passed away at home
with Laura and his family around him. He had just celebrated his 27th
birthday. 

So why am I telling you this?

On one occasion during his treatment as an out-patient at The Christie, I took him for some radiotherapy treatment. We got
talking about how I had run a couple of marathons, and we ended up making an agreement that when he was recovered, that we would train for and run a marathon together. Sadly, we never got the chance to do that.

Therefore, in honour of my agreement with him, and as a way to boost our fundraising, I will be taking on a virtual trek, that is
41 times longer than a marathon, from Land's End to John O'Groats which is part of a Lejog Virtual Fitness Challenge. The full distance is 1,083 miles and I will be covering the distance by walking, running outdoors, running on my treadmill and cycling on my exercise bike. My target is to raise at least £1,083, and I have set a time limit of 1,083 hours (45 days) from the moment that I set off to complete it, at an average of 24 miles per day - I hope to complete it faster than this but we shall see. I will be celebrating my 57th birthday during the trek so this will be a real physical challenge for me.

I am setting off on my journey on Saturday 30th January.

The App will allow me to "take photographs" of where I am on my journey based on how many miles that I have travelled from Land's End and I will be posting them online via my own Facebook page, the Smiley Smiley Josh Riley Facebook page and also on Instagram
(but I don't know how that works - my youngest daughter Grace will be sorting that out).

If you feel able to make a donation, please do so,
but equally if you feel unable to do so that is absolutely fine. 

http://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/john-aspin

http://www.smileysmiley.org/

Facebook:  Smiley Smiley Josh Riley Foundation            

Instagram: @smiley_smiley_josh_riley