Dear All,

It's a difficult one for me to write and I have been putting it off for a few weeks now. It's difficult for a number of reasons. Firstly, I have never done this before and feel uncomfortable about asking for support and not even sure if it's the right thing to do. Secondly, I can only run 5km and can't yet see myself running twice as much without dying.. I realise for those of you who ran London Marathon it might be difficult to relate to my pathetic concerns.. Finally, and most importantly, today is my daddy's birthday and even though it has been over two years since he is not physically here, he is very much alive in my and children's hearts and therefore it seems strange and unnatural to be telling his story 'as if he wasn't here' when I feel his presence so strongly.

That's probably more than enough for an introduction. So here goes:

My dad had a rare and scary disease called Myeloma - cancer of plasma cells. He first developed it in his forties but miraculously got cured.. To this date there are no cases of people surviving this type of cancer for so many years. He was fit and healthy until October 2009 when suddenly Myeloma came back. It was a shock, shock that we still haven't recovered from as my dad was invincible and the healthiest and fittest person I knew. I found out that he got ill the day Guy was running Ricky Marathon. Then 4 agonising months followed. My dad was very strong and I was privileged and fortunate to be able to be near him. The times we shared were extremely precious and this experience changed my perceptions on many things in life. Certain things can only be truly understood if experienced.

What makes me incredibly bitterly sad though is not what happened but how it happened. My dad did not receive neither support nor medical care he needed and I was not strong enough to take full responsibility for what has been done or rather not done. He did not have access to pain relieve he needed and spent last few months of his life in agony..

He passed away on 18th January 2010 and I have to run now.. run for my daddy and run to help raise awareness of the wonderful Myeloma charity in a hope that cure will be found for this awful illness and those unfortunate people who suffer from the disease will be offered care and support they need.

Enough said, apologies for a long email. The link to make a charity donation is below together with some more information on Myeloma Charity.

Thank you all for your support.

 

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