“I walked throughout the night and day without sleep”
I originally completed the Jurassic Coast continuous walk with Ultra Action challenge group in May 2021. Sadly the true core reason I even thought about signing up to this challenge both in May 2021 and on the 14th/ 15th May 2022 this year was losing my dad to advanced cancer, from being diagnosed to his passing was only 3 months.
There is so much I can talk about and just don’t know where to start. My dad was a local, Christchurch born and raised. His name is Keith Nobbs.
Dad had a wonderful father who he was very close to and an older brother and a very warm caring sister of whom he had a strong bond with. My dad’s world was his family, his wife and five children. Dad was a devoted granddad to ten grandchildren. Dad’s big passion in his life was his love of training dogs from Jack Russell’s, terriers to over the last years loving training and working with the cocker spaniel breed. Dad was a complete natural with dogs, he could train any dog and they just listened to him, this was one of his gifts in life.
Dad loved his grandchildren and they all loved him. This was the most difficult part of him being unwell, the thought and realisation that he wasn’t going to see them grow up. Dad was a loyal, sincere, devoted and completely honest person. I can say truly like so many others will feel that we will miss him everyday and life will never be the same.
I think people who know people that lose loved ones to cancer think that it will never happen to anyone in their family, but it really, sadly does happen and it can effect everyone and anyone from all walks of life.
Dad managed his illness the best way he could, he was incredibly strong, he had to manage pain at home which was incredibly challenging for him and the whole family. We made time as a family the best way we could and dad chose to be at home no matter what.
Dad spent a lot of time with his grandchildren and sadly passed away at home, he was comfortable and this was his wish. Dad was cared for so well by the district nurses and nurse and health care assistants from the Macmillan Unit at home. They were all wonderful people and really helped my dad through difficult times. Dad spent a short time at the Macmillan Unit and I know he was so very well cared for by the nurses.
I can now appreciate all of the great work all professional individuals do at the Macmillan Unit in our home town of Christchurch. This is the reason I did the 100km continuous walk of the Jurassic Coast to help raise vital funds to help Macmillan Caring Locally. the charity that in turn directly helps and supports the Macmillan Unit in Christchurch.
It was a really tough but beautiful challenge, for me I was delighted to make it over the 3 terror hills after Durdle Door and received many donations whilst walking. I was so happy a passer by walking saw a picture of my dad on my backpack and gave me £40 cash. These things are so kind and give you true incentive to push forwards. I started the walk on Saturday 14th May at 7.30pm and finished on Sunday 15th May a lot later than expected at 8.30pm as I was helping a fellow lovely lady, aged 73 years to get to the 58 km mark.
When you lose someone you love to cancer I think it really changes you as a person and for me has changed my whole perspective of really what is important. I am sure so many people feel the same, you tend not to get stressed over the little things and prioritise things in life better. Grief is a very difficult place to be and a long arduous journey to come through to a place of contentment about your loss and the whole family dealing with it. My dad just wanted to live and outweigh the odds that he would beat his illness and nothing else at that point when he was unwell. I believe that life is a gift and we need to go through the ups and downs to really appreciate it and not take a day for granted.
