Return To Romance

My name is Nigel and in January 2008 I will be setting off on a walk of 1300 miles in 110 days
The aim is to raise £50,000 for four charities that my late wife Anne supported.

About Anne

Anne was born in Easington, County Durham in 1957, grew up in Seaham Harbour and was educated in Seaham and Sunderland before joining the Royal Navy as a nurse in 1975 at the then Royal Naval Hospital Haslar in Gosport where we were married in 1976.

1. Anne suffered 4 cancers (3 of them different types) over four years the first, Hodgkins lymphoma was diagnosed in 2001, followed one year later by bowel cancer and then two bouts of liver cancer each a year apart. During those four years, Anne underwent different chemotherapy treatments for around 20 months and had three major operations.
2. Despite fully recovering from each of the cancers, Anne collapsed and died unexpectedly on 26th November 2005 at the age of 48 whilst undergoing a precautionary course of chemotherapy to eliminate any rogue cells that may have remained after her surgery 3 months before. Anne had developed flu like symptoms 4 days before she died and tests showed that her death had been caused by a rapidly developed infection that had attacked the valves and lining in her heart.
3. Throughout her illness, Anne who was a qualified midwife and registered nurse carried on working, never wanting to hide away or be treated differently. She carried on working as a midwife in Southampton and Portsmouth and later as a nurse in the radiology department at the Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport. Her experience as a nurse and cancer sufferer enabled her to support others who were starting treatment by giving advice when having intravenous lines fitted in the radiology department and also on the oncology ward when starting their chemotherapy, often while she was having her own treatment.
4. Anne was an honest, warm, loving wife, mother and grandmother. Always full of life, fun and hope even when at her lowest ebb. I miss her so much and want to do this for her; she was a truly wonderful, courageous woman.
5. Anne and I were due to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary in Rome in March 2006 and she would have celebrated her 50th birthday in June 2007. This sponsored walk is to honour that plan and to celebrate a life taken suddenly but also importantly to acknowledge many of the people / charities that Anne supported or which supported us through Anne's time of need.