hope

 To want something to happen and think that it is possible.

 (oxford dictionary definition)

23rd August 2015 was my second wedding anniversary, and my first without the love of my life by my side, who finally lost his battle on the 3rd September 2014 aged just 33 to a devastating brain tumour, shortly after our first wedding anniversary.

My husband was quite simply the most amazing man I have ever had the privilege to know, and his immense strength, love, humour and kindness shone out like a beacon of light wherever he went in life. He fought with the greatest dignity, bravery, and courage I have ever known until the very end, and I feel truly honoured to have been loved and adored by such an incredible man, who made me happier than I ever thought was possible. He was the light of my life.

I have to be honest and say that this has been the most devastatingly hard year of my life following such a loss. I have searched the depths of my soul to understand why these things happen to such good people, and still I have no answer.

What I do know however, is that life is for living to the full. Matthew was the most admirable example of someone who made the best of life even when the odds were stacked against him. He never once complained about the hand of cards that life had dealt him, and would often say that he felt lucky for what he did have, and that other people were much worse off than he was. He did not ask for a lot in life, but because of his great genorosity towards others and his incredible spirit he was rich in love and laughter. Hope is a word we often used for comfort in good times and in bad, and I have turned to it again many times over this last year to give me the strength to carry on and make my husband proud. 

And so I take from all this on my new journey the desire and hope to live my new chapter in life to the full for the both of us, with courage, grace, kindness, and as much love as I can give to people,  just like my wonderful husband would have wanted me to, which of course starts with this great north run! 

I hope that you can support me in this epic adventure to help me keep the promise I made to Matthew before he died that I would complete this event in his honour. I wish to carry on the wonderful fundraising that we both started together (where we raised £7000!), with the aim for this particular event to achieve a total of 2815,61 pounds if possible which would get us to a 10,000 pounds combined total!

We really desperately need to find a cure for this horrendous disease that robs so many people of a future, and we will only achieve this with rigorous research, that at the moment in the UK is extremely poorly funded, despite the fact that it affects the lives of around 16,000 newly diagnosed people a year!

Although I have never really been a fan of fitness (mainly due to my love of wine, chocolate, and my iPad!) and especially not running, little did I realise how much I would actually learn to love being a lycra queen, especially with our wonderful dogs poppy and orca for running buddies who are super fit too now and they love it! I started as a completely unfit non runner in the early weeks after my loss, when I could only manage a minute without having to stop due to being so out of breath and crying so many tears as I thought of my husband. As the months have gone by however, with my husband in my heart with every step I take, tears have been (mostly!) replaced with focus and determination, and poor fitness has been replaced with stamina and strength. So it just goes to show that anything is possible if you really want it enough!

As a final note, I know I may only be young (ish!), but I feel that I have learnt so many things in my life already. I still believe that love and laughter is the key to happiness, and it really is the simple things that often bring us the most joy in life, if only we will stop and pay attention to them:) This realisation comes from all that my husband was, and all that he taught me just by being himself, which has made me the person that I am today.

If you would like to see a little more of my journey then please do take a look at the video in the gallery section on this website page that I have put together as a tribute to my wonderful husband, or use the links and details below.

                                         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4oBpxpY4T0  

                                                                                or search

                                     'great north run 2015 matthew wright' on www.youtube.com.

The song in the video is one we picked together for when I walked down the aisle towards my soulmate on our wedding day.

        I truly believe love is eternal and my husband stays in my heart forever and always. 

It’s all for you Matthew, forever yours

x x x

my greatest adventure

Love

It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends.

(corinthians 13.7.8)

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this page :)