London to Paris – on the Horizon

It’s now just 9 days till I leave to do my London to Paris ride for Myeloma UK, 21 months after I first signed up.

I’m really very proud of myself and for once in my life, I’m not ashamed to admit that. In that time, I’ve gone from being straight out of my stem cell transplant (nearly dead!) and a non-cyclist, to feeling like I’ve trained long enough and hard enough, that I hope I will not only complete the ride, but that I’ll also enjoy it as I go!!

I’m really really happy that my niece, Flis, will also be riding with me. I think the whole experience will be even more special being able to share it with someone in my family, and I hope it will give us a chance to bond lots too – something I always love doing with my family and friends. We’ve already planned the drunken party on the last day 🤣.

But seriously, it’s a bit mad. When Flis signed up, she did it largely because of me (I think!), and also because her brother-in-law’s dad had myeloma. That felt really strange that two of us had been affected by this rare cancer. But then her partners mum was also diagnosed with myeloma, so for her, she is now cycling for so many reasons.

If you’re following this blog, you’re no stranger to what myeloma is, either because I’ve bored you for so many years, or because you’re affected by myeloma yourself. But I am doing this ride not just for me, but for patients all over the UK and the world who are living with this cancer every day. I’m also doing it for the families who lost their precious loved ones. I never ever will forget those people I was blessed enough to call my friends, even if only for short periods of time. My lovely friend Kerry (from the Happy Giraffe group) has designed a logo that can go on my cycling tops to remember those that I miss and I’m so grateful to her. I’m not in touch with all the families now, but I still very much remember these friends.

🥰Pamela, Sandra, Geri, Henry, Marjorie, Sheila, Ian and Wendy🥰

They are just a few – there are more sadly. But whilst I know how lucky I am to still be here 13 years on, those people drew the short straw and their families and friends have to live with that loss every day. Doing my job for Brain Tumour Research, I have realised just how hard that must be for them all, more than I ever did before. And it makes me all the more determined to keep supporting Myeloma UK and the people affected by myeloma.

I’ve always said that once I’ve completed my #50KB450 and raised that £50,000 (I’m only £2k off it now!!), that I will take a proper break from my fundraising. And I absolutely will. My family and friends deserve that more than anything! But I won’t stop supporting myeloma patients in other ways because it’s too important. Raising awareness, early diagnosis and lobbying the government is the only way that I can hopefully stop having to go to funerals of people I care about. So that’s where my focus will go.

As for me at the moment, well things have been relatively stable although my last bloods weren’t quite as good. But I’m hoping that was a bit of a blip because they were taken at a time I wasn’t very well. I’m certainly not wallowing for once which is a nice change. Another outcome of living with this for so long is that I’m getting better at not panicking until we have an ongoing pattern of results!! So keep those fingers crossed that it all goes back to normal next month once I’m back from Paris.

In the meantime, if you would like to sponsor me for cycling to Paris, you can do so here. I know times are difficult for everyone, but even a fiver would be much appreciated!!

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