TO ALL YOU LOVELY PEOPLE READING THIS,

HI MY NAME IS KERRY YATES NEE MISSELBROOK AND I AM 32 YEARS OLD AND THIS IS MY SECOND MOONLIGHT WALK.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ ON HOW I BECAME INVOLVED WITH THIS PLEASE READ AS I WAS PART OF TEAM LJM LAST YEAR.

RIGHT WHERE DO I START, WELL FOR ME TEAM LJM/ TEAM FAMILY STARTED AT 11-45 PM ON THE 17TH DEC 2009 WHEN I GOT A PHONE CALL TO SAY DAD HAD CANCER AND IT WAS IN HIS OESPHAGUS AND HE HAD SECONDARIES IN THE SPINE SO I DROPPED EVERYTHING AND WENT TO MUMS.

DAD BEING DAD THOUGHT HE WAS CURABLE (TYPICAL MAN) HE EVEN BOOKED HIS TICKET BACK TO CHINA THAT IS WHERE HE HAD BEEN WORKING FOR THE LAST 2 YEARS SO WE HAD WHATS WAS TO BE OUR LAST XMAS AS A WHOLE FAMILY AS WE HOPED AND PRAYED HE WOULD BEAT THE CANCER WITH TREATMENT, GOODWILL AND COURAGE.

DAD CAME HOME ON THE 19TH DEC AFTER GOD ONLY KNOWS HOW HE DID A 14 HRS FLIGHT AND A 3 HR CAR JOURNEY AS HE WAS IN AGONY BUT DAD WAS A TRUE FIGHTER HE RARELY TOOK TIME OFF WITH BEING ILL ETC HE USED TO SAY KEZ I AM NOT SWINGING THE LEAD!!

I SAW DAD ON THE SUNDAY HE ANSWERED THE DOOR AND I WAS IN SHOCK AND HAD TO HOLD BACK THE TEARS AS DAD WAS HALF THE SIZE AND I ONLY SAW HIM IN THE SEPT BUT DAD ASSURED ME HE WAS GOING TO GET BETTER SO DONT WORRY AND PUT A SMILE BACK ON MY FACE.

WELL XMAS CAME AND WENT AND THE REALITIES OF THE CANCER SOON STARTED TO SET IN AS MUM HAD TO GIVE UP THE JOB SHE JUST FOUND AS DAD NEEDED CARE 24/7 HE WAS POORLIER THAN WE FIRST THOUGHT AND IT DID NOT LOOK GOOD AS DAD WENT FOR MORE TESTS WE REALISED THAT HIS CANCER WAS MORE ADVANCED BUT DAD KEPT PLODDING ON.

WELL THINGS WENT DOWNHILL WHEN WE WERE TOLD DAD WAS TREATABLE NOT CURABLE AND WE WERE TOLD HE HAD 2 YRS OR MORE AND WITH CHEMO AND RADIOTHERAPY IT SHOULD HELP REDUCE THE TUMOURS MAKING LIFE MORE BEARABLE FOR HIM AND IT WAS ABOUT THIS TIME WE WERE INTRODUCED TO SARAH BELL ONE OF THE CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALISTS AT ST WILFRIDS HOSPICE SHE WAS A BRILLIANT LIFELINE TO US AS WHEN YOU GO FROM SEEING YOUR DAD WORKING 24/7 TO NOT EVEN BE ABLE TO SEND AN EMAIL OR TEXT YOUR HEART SINKS I CAN TELL YOU SO SARAH WAS A GODESEND AND SO WAS THE HOSPICES TEAM.

WELL DAD TOOK A TURN FOR THE WHERE HE COULD NOT SWALLOW NOMORE AND HE WAS ADMITTED TO THE QUEEN ALEXANDRA HOSPITAL IN COSHAM BUT THE HOSPICE DID NOT FORGET US WHATSOEVER THEY WERE IN CONTACT DAILY AND SARAH WAS FIGHTING TO GET DAD TRANSFERRED TO THE HOSPICE AS QA IS A GOOD 40 MINUTE DRIVE AWAY BUT THE HOSPICE IS ONLY 20 IN BAD TRAFFIC.

DAD GOT TRANSFERRED ON THE THURSDAY WHICH HE QUICKLY RENAMED THE HOSPICE THE "HOTEL" WELL IF HE BUZZED THEY CAME TO HIS AID STRAIGHT AWAY WHICH WAS A RELIEF AS ITS VERY VERY HARD WHEN YOU ARE LAYING IN YOUR BED AT NIGHT WONDERNG IF HE WAS OK SO IT PEACE OF MIND KNOWING THAT HE WAS BEING LOOKED AFTER AS YOU ARE GOING THROUGHT HELL IN YOUR OWN HEAD BEING TOLD THAT THE MAN THAT BOUGHT YOU INTO THIS WORLD IS REALLY REALLY ILL SO PEACE OF MIND IS WHAT YOU HANG ON TO.

I DONT KNOW IF YOU KNOW THIS BUT THE HOSPICE LOOKED AFTER US AS WELL AS CARING FOR DAD IF WE NEEDED A SHOULDER TO CRY ON THEY WERE THERE IF WE WANTED A CUP OF TEA THEY SAID HELP YOURELF AND ON A COUPLE OF OCCASSIONS THEY FED ME AND I THOUGHT YOU DID NOT HAVE TO BUT THANK YOU!!

ON THE NIGHT DAD PASSED AWAY WAS LIKE AN ORDINARY TUESDAY I LEFT MY HOUSE AT 5 PM TO GO HELP MUM AT THE HOSPICE AND WHO WOULD OF THOUGHT OUR LIVES WOULD CHANGE FOREVER AS 24 HOURS PREVIOUS THEY ATTEMPTED TO PUT A STENT IN TO HELP DAD EAT AGAIN SO DAD COULD GET STRONGER FOR TREATMENT BUT IT FAILED SO THEY PUT A FEEDING TUBE IN HIS STOMACH INSTEAD SO ITS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT 24 HOURS PREVIOUS HE WAS LAUGHING AND JOKING WITH HIS FAMILY AND ASKING US TO GO GET HIM A BEER AND BLEND HIM UP A KORMA AND PUT IT IN HIS FEEDING TUBE AS EVER SINCE HE TOUCHED DOWN AT HEATHROW ON THE 19TH DEC HE WAS CRAVING A KORMA AND A BEER SO WE WERE ALL CRACKING UP WITH LAUGHTER AT THE THOUGHT.

THE HOSPICE WERE BRILLIANT THAT NIGHT THEY EVEN OPENED UP THE ROOM NEXTDOOR SO WE WERE NOT STUCK IN THE HALLWAY AND WE WERE ALLOWED AS MANY FAMILY THERE AS WE WANTED AND THE STAFF WAS ON HAND ALL THE TIME TO ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS EVEN IF IT WAS WHAT CUPBOARD IS THE SUGAR IN?? I EVEN REMEMBER ONE MEMBER OF STAFF GOING THROUGH ALL THE CUPBOARDS TO FIND SOME EARL GREY TEA AS THATS ALL MUM COULD STOMACH SO THATS HOW LOVELY THE STAFF WERE.

WHEN DAD PASSED AWAY IN THE EARLY HOURS OF FEB 3RD 2010 THEY SAID THERE WAS NO RUSH TAKE YOUR TIME I PERSONALLY DID NOT FEEL LIKE I WAS ON A CONVEYOR BELT AS IF TO SAY DAD HAS GONE NOW OFF YOU GO WE WERE TOLD TO COME BACK AT 10 AM LATER THAT MORNING.

WE GOT TO THE HOSPICE AND DAD HAS A BIG FAMILY SO WE SAT IN A BIG ROOM AND WE WERE MADE A LOVELY CUP OF TEA AND WE LEFT TO CATCH OUR BREATHS AND ALL THE DRS AND NURSES THAT CARED FOR DAD WERE IN SHOCK ON HOW QUICK HE DIED AS WE ALL THOUGHT HE HAD 8 MONTHS TO 2 YEARS BUT IN THE END WE HAD 5 WEEKS FROM THE DAY WE GOT TOLD TO THE DAY HE DIED.

WE WENT IN TO DADS BEDROOM AT ST WILFRIDS AND THE NURSE EVEN PUT HIS SOCKS ON HIM AS HE ALWAYS HATED HAVING COLD FEET WE WERE TOLD THAT THE ROOM WAS GOING TO BE COLD AND WHAT TO EXPECT BUT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 6 WEEKS HE LOOKED AT PEACE, NOT IN PAIN AND ALL HIS STRESSES WERE TAKEN AWAY AND I MUST ADMT HE LOOKED VERY SMART IN HIS NEW BLACK PJS AND THE STAFF HAD WASHED HIM TOO.

THE NICE THING ALSO WAS THAT THE STAFF HAD PACKED UP ALL HIS STUFF AND ANY STUFF THAT NEEDED WASHING HAD BEEN WASHED SO IT TOOK THE STRAIN OF WASHING IT OF OUR SHOULDERS AS TO BE HONEST THATS THE LAST THING ON YOUR MIND AND THEY SAID THE STAFF WERE ONLY A PHONECALL AWAY OR JUST POP IN IF WE NEEDED A CHAT THEY EVEN GUIDED US ON HOW TO BREAK THE NEWS TO THE GRANDCHILDREN AND WHAT BOOKS TO READ AND WHAT WEBSITES TO LOOK AT AND I KNOW THAT SARAH IS CONTACT WITH MUM EVEN NOW AND DAD DIED A YEAR AGO SO THAT SPEAKS VOLUMES TO ME.

WELL A FEWS DAYS PASSED AND SOMEHOW MUMS HOUSE BECAME FAMILY HQ AS SUCH AND WE WERE SICKENED AND DISGUSTED TO LEARN THAT HOSPICES ONLY GET 15% FUNDNG FROM THE GOVERNMENT AS THE CARE AND SUPPORT WE WERE GIVEN WAS SECOND TO NONE SO WHEN WE HEAR THAT THE HOSPICE WAS DOING THE MOONLIGHT WALK TO RAISE FUNDS WE ALL JUMPED TO TAKE PART.

MY DAD WAS 56 YEARS OLD WHEN HE DIED AND THE HOSPICE GAVE MY DAD THE CARE HE DESERVED AND SUPPORTED US THROUGH A VERY ROUGH AND DARK TIME SO 56 IS NO AGE IF YOU WANT ME TO BE HONEST.

A YEAR ON........................................................................

I HAVE DECIDED TO WALK AGAIN NOT ONLY IN MEMORY OF MY DAD BUT ALSO IN MEMORY OF MY NAN & GRANDAD SHAWYER AS I RECKON THEY WOULD OF LOVED THE CARE OF THE HOSPICE IN THEIR FINAL DAYS AND MY NANNA DOT AND GRANDAD DEN AS NANNA DOT ALSO PASSED AWAY AT THE HOSPICE A FEW YEARS EARLIER AND THEY WERE BRILLIANT TO HER ALSO, SO WHEN THE LOVELY STAFF ARE GIVING THEM AND YOU 110% CARE AND SUPPORT WHO CAN SAY NO I AM BUSY THAT NIGHT AND I AM BEING REALISTIC WITH MY FAMILY HISTORY YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU ARE GOING TO NEED IT AND I WANT TO KNOW THAT IN 20 YEARS TIME ST WILFRIDS IS GOING TO BE THERE FOR ME, MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS AS I FEEL A LITTLE WEIGHT IS LIFTED OFF YOU WHEN YOUR IN A DARK HORRIBLE PLACE OF NOT KNOWING WHATS GOING ON FROM ONE DAY TO THE NEXT WHEN YOU HAVE SOMEONE YOU LOVE TERMINALLY ILL OR SOMEONE WHO HAS A LIFE LIMITING ILLNESS.

SO THIS YEAR ITS JUST ME WALKING AS WE HAVE TO BABIES ON THE WAY AND MY SISTERS WILL BE DUE TO DROP BY THEN AND MUM WILL BE RECOVERING FROM KNEE SURGERY SO I WILL BE WALKING FOR THEM, DAD, NAN & GRANDAD SHAWYER AND NANNA DOT & GRANDAD DENSO AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED I AM CALLING MYSELF TEAM FAMILY AND FOR THOSE WHO DONATE TO MY PAGE I WILL CLASS YOU AS PART OF THAT AS THAT FIVER OR TENNER YOU DONATE IS ONE STEP CLOSER TO KEEPING THE HOSPICE OPEN SO IT CAN CARE, HELP AND SUPPORT MORE FAMILIES AS I PERSONALLY FEEL ONCE YOU HAVE BEEN TOUCHED BY THE HOSPICE IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER YOU BECOME ONE BIG EXTENDED FAMILY.

SO IF YOU CANT TAKE PART PLEASE DIG DEEP AND DONATE

MANY THANKS

KERRY/TEAM FAMILY

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