True Inspiration from an old mate

I had a mate from school emailed me today saying he'd very sadly lost his Dad to cancer on Monday and it brought back to me why I'm doing this.

Losing a loved one or a family member to cancer is horrific. The pain and emptiness is intense and never leaves you completely. It took me a long time to get over the initial shock of losing my Dad, although the deep pain will never leave me. I found strength in being grateful for the fact he'd been my Dad, that I'd had the pleasure to know him as my best mate as well as my Dad. That said, grief affects everyone differently and to varying degrees. I was in the depths of despair for a long time and it took something special in my life to pull me out of it. Being grateful for the time I was lucky enough to have shared with him has been critical to making sure he didn't die in vain.

My mate's wounds are still fresh and I feel for him immensely. I just hope he can find the strength to stay positive and focus on the good things that life offers. Death is a part of life. We only get one crack at it and it's short relative to the history of time.

This is the reason I'm going on this expedition: I want to make sure my Dad didn't die in vain and that I remember him in making this attempt on the North Pole to raise much needed funds for Macmillan. If, on one special day, a son or daughter I may never have met, don't lose their father too early to cancer because of what I've done, my journey will be a victory. You can be part of that dream by donating to my cause because we need financial support to continue Macmillan's amazing work.

So please give all you can by clicking here or on the tracker at the side of the page.

Together we can make that one very special day day happen.