Adam Howitt's Team In Training Page
Racing for Aunty Moreen
Welcome to my Team In Training home page.
I am training to participate in an endurance event as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I'm completing this event in honor of my Aunty Moreen and I need your support to help fund research to find a cure!
The Aunty Moreen I remember from my childhood was someone who was very loving and had a great sense of humour. She was always laughing or making other people laugh and her enthusiasm for life was amazing. I asked my cousins to describe their Mum, her battle with cancer and the great work she did before she died:
"Mum was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 1998 and died in 2004 aged 62. Bowel cancer is the 2nd commonest cancer affecting women (after breast cancer) in the UK. Each year 35,000 people are diagnosed with the illness.
From the start Mum was determined to fight the cancer and remained positive throughout., and she found that she could use her medical background along side her own personal experience to help other cancer sufferers in the future. So she involved herself in a study to explore patient views on participation in treatment, physical care and psychological care decisions and factors that facilitate and hinder patients from making decisions. This study had implications for health professionals aiming to implement policy guidelines that promote patient participation and shared partnerships. Patients in this study wanted to be well informed and involved in the consultation process but did not necessarily want to use the information they received to make decisions. The presentation of choices and preferences for participation may be context specific and it cannot be assumed that patients who do not want to make decisions about one aspect of their care and treatment do not want to make decisions about other aspects of their care and treatment.
Even during the last 18 months, when mum was really quiet poorly and had additionally contracted MRSA; she still had a great sense of humour. We constantly laughed and joked. She never seemed down. Most importantly of all she kept her dignity and never was there a time when her hair, make-up and nails were not impeccable. Even in intensive care it would be her first request..(pass me my make-up bag!). We really want to point out that although this was a very sad time, it really didn't feel sad, it wasn't all doom and gloom, yes of course there were times when we all cried..but we spent the most amazing quality time together which brought us closer together as a family. What more could a Mum ask for?
I guess if we could sum it all up, your Auntie Mo was many things to many different people. She had fantastic qualities brave, dependable, vivacious and gregarious. But she was also a great friend, a much loved Nanna, a beloved sister, a lover and most of all a fantastic Mum."
The last time I saw Aunty Moreen was a day or two before she died, on her 62nd birthday. I had flown home for New Year from Chicago and my Aunty Mave (her sister) took me round to visit. Aunty Moreen had asked the children to buy champagne and strawberries and make sandwiches for anyone who came to see her on her birthday. Despite her illness, she still looked so proper with her hair all fancy, wearing makeup and an elegant outfit as she lay on the bed in the living room. She was still cracking jokes and keeping us all amused. It's so sad to think that I will never see her again and this is why I chose to run this marathon in her memory.
Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance the Society's mission.
I hope you'll visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!
