Right - the Wakey Walk done and dusted - now its my turn.
On Friday 17th July (thats just seven days away) I, and seven of my closest friends will be tackling the Coast to Coast Sustrans Bike Trail from Workington to Sunderland to raise funds for Wheatfields Hospice.
147 miles in two and a half days in an attempt to raise £2500 to fund half a day's operation costs for the Sue Ryder Care hospice - why ?
We're a close knit bunch, we've known each other since we were small kids, at least four decades (and more) we've known each other, we are the remnants of a 1970's Sunday League football team, we grew up and raised our families together - we're close, close as this (holds finger and thumb very close).
So when one of us, Chris, felt a bit dizzy in The Junction one friday night in January we told him to make an appointment at his doctor, he didn't look all that well to be honest.
Seven days later he was in the LGI recovering after brain surgery which removed one of a pair of tumours on his brain, the second one was too deep to remove, it was also very aggressive, he was told to go home and enjoy his last few months - he died at the end of March.
His last three weeks were spent in Wheatfields and we also spent a lot of time in there visiting, I am in awe of the place, its not just the palliative care that they offer so excellently, Chris's tumour gradually shut down all of his peripheral senses but he was never in pain nor was he ever unable to welcome us - its not just the medical treatment they give, its the personal care they take the time to administer, small things like they gave him back his appetite for food by ripping up the menus and making him a cooked breakfast anytime of day he wanted it, or ice cream, or anything - they do this for everyone, regardless of creed, colour or religion, they do it for free based only on dire need.
When you need them they are there, waiting for you.
There's a Just giving site right here [urlhttp://original.justgiving.com/doingitforchris[/url, any donation, however small is gratefully appreciated, just one pound will get you ten minutes of my thoughts, thats the deal, while I am riding up the biggest bastad hills in this godforsaken country I'll think of you for ten minutes, it'll be our little moment of telepathy - you'll be sitting there in front of your TV set and suddenly you'll hear me inside your head swearing my way up another buggah of a hill, but I warn you, I swear like Lennie Bruce in a temper when I'm suffering so don't let the kids listen.
Full story blogged here [urlhttp://jerrychicken.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/the-blagging-starts-here/[/url
