My name is Tommy, and I’m walking solo from Mons, Belgium to Barnsley, UK covering 200 miles, to raise money for Barnsley Hospice.

In October of 2024 whilst at work, I received a phone call that would completely shatter my life as I knew it. My dad, Lee Davies, was being moved to Barnsley hospice for end of life care.

My dad had been fighting lung cancer for less than a year and naively I really believed the treatment would work. At the end of July I was posted overseas with the military and my dad was so excited for me and my family. I knew as soon as he was well enough he would be out to visit and we would go fishing and sample a few Belgium beers, I even got all new fishing tackle knowing that a visit was on the horizon.

My dad was truly my best friend, and my 3 boys thought he was the best man to walk the planet. Nothing was better than a sausage roll on the train on the way to the Etihad with grandad Lee.

The day he got taken in to the hospice, my wife contacted JCCC (Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre) and I was put on the first flight from Belgium straight to the doors of Barnsley hospice where I then stayed for 13 days and nights in a reclining chair next to my dad. Those 13 days meant the world to me and Barnsley hospice took care of me as much as they took care of my dad. They fed me, they were all so kind, caring and they allowed me to have that time with my dad that I and he so desperately needed. They were so good to him that my dad actually believed he was in a hotel! We spent hours watching/listening to our favourite tracks on YouTube, we watched every episode of Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone fishing, we even had a few beers while watching Man City, it was the best and worst days of my life.

On October 6th 2024, at the age of 62, my dad passed away.

I’m so grateful to Barnsley hospice, and I imagine I’m just one of many people who have stepped foot in those doors to spend their final days with their loved one.

With this in mind, I am challenging myself to raise money in my dad’s memory for Barnsley hospice.

See you back in Blighty.

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