Background ;

Hi there,

We're raising money for The Teenage & Young Adult Cancer Team of the Beatson Cancer charity as they are an invaluable resource for young people battling cancer. 

The support they provided to my wife, Meadhbh, and I was second to none. Especially with  Meadhbh's prognosis, which unfortunately involved spending her last Christmas in Hospital. The Teenage & Young Adult team arranged for Meadhbh to get a private room so that I could stay with her and also provided festive food along with a host of other things, including psychological support. They even helped Meadhbh and I bring forward our wedding so that we could still have our big day! Something that I am incredibly grateful for. Basically they made an incredibly shit time that bit easier. 

Meadhbh was an incredibly caring & compassionate soul who had an outstanding passion for life. Her smile could brighten even the darkest of days and she was the life & soul of the party! Those traits are what made her an exceptional Paramedic, a job that she absolutely loved! 

It gives me great honour in being able to call her my wife.

Why we're doing it;

Prior to Meadhbh's passing she had a bucket list of things that she wanted to do, at the very top was run a marathon. So Meadhbh's younger sister, Hannah, my sister Carolanne & myself will be running the 2023 Loch Ness Marathon for Meadhbh! Whilst trying to raise as much money as possible for TYA team at the Beatson. 

Hannah will be raising awareness and spreading Meadhbh's story in County Limerick, Republic of Ireland, which is where Meadhbh was from, whilst Carolanne & myself will be doing our best to raise awareness here in Glasgow. 

I'll also be carrying Meadhbh's favourite Teddy, which can be seen in the last photo (a highland cow she named Hannah) around the 26.2 miles with me. 

Meadhbh's Story;

In September 2022 I woke up to an early morning phone call from Meadhbh, who was at work as a Paramedic with the Scottish Ambulance Service. She told me that she had coughed up at blood clot, whilst in hospital with a patient, and that an x-ray had revealed a shadow in her left lung. This was totally out of the blue! Meadhbh had no other symptoms.

Fast forward a few weeks and we're being told that Meadhbh has stage 4 combined small cell lung cancer, an extremely aggressive & rare form of cancer, that's not typically seen in a 24 year old non smoker who's otherwise in good health. Meadhbh's cancer had spread to her bones & lymph nodes. The specialist's advised us that Meadhbh's type of cancer was incurable however tended to respond well to chemotherapy. They informed us that with chemo Meadhbh would likely have a year to live if not more due to her age & health.

Meadhbh received three rounds of chemo but was hospitalised each time with neutropenia. On the third time she was hospitalised we were informed that Meadhbh's treatment wasn't working and that the cancer in her spine was compressing her spinal cord. We were told that she had 6 - 8 weeks to live. This news came to us on the 23rd December 2022.

Meadhbh passed away on the 11th March 2023, the day after my 27th birthday. Despite the high levels of sedation she was under, as a result of her agonising pain, Meadhbh still managed to wake up and hum 'Happy Birthday' to me. ❤️ This was a true testament to Meadhbh's strength & character.

In the end cancer robbed Meadhbh of everything but her compassion, humour & strength. The Beatson Cancer Charity & the Teenage & Young Adult Team helped make Meadhbh's journey that bit more positive and I will be forever indebted to them. They also helped us pull together our wedding in 3 days, a feat that I am forever grateful for!

So please join me in raising as much money as we can for this amazing charity! 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.