A local resident is preparing to run the London Marathon next year for Dorothy House Hospice Care in memory of his wife, who died from brain cancer in April.
Chris Chivers will be taking on the 26-mile challenge next April to raise funds for the charity, which Chris said was ‘absolutely amazing’ in providing end-of-life care for his wife, Rebecca.
“Just before Rebecca died, we celebrated our 13-year anniversary together,” explained Chris, who has completed the London Marathon twice before. “We met in 2011 and married in 2022. This has been the hardest year of my life since Rebecca passed away. I have openly said that by the time I get to the finish line of the London marathon, I will crawl across it if I have to.”
Rebecca had lived all her life in Frome after being born at the town’s maternity unit. She spent time studying at Westminster University in London before going on to work as an ophthalmic specialist in the NHS.
She left the NHS in 2021 when she and Chris had their daughter Mollie and started working as a clinical specialist at Dorothy House Hospice Care, at their main hospice centre in Winsley.
“Rebecca had decided she wanted to return to working in ophthalmology. Last December, she handed in her notice, but just a week later, she was rushed to the Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Bath, where they initially suspected she had suffered a stroke,” Chris explained.
“She had an incredibly invasive brain cancer; she woke up on a Thursday morning and her arm had stopped working properly, she was slurring her speech, she had not been right for a number of weeks before and they put it down to stress.”
Chris, who works as an electronics engineer, is determined to raise around £2,000 for the charity, which he said had been incredibly supportive in providing care for Rebecca, as well as Rebecca’s late grandfather.
“When Dorothy House came on board with our weekly visits, it took a load off all of us. There is a lot of people who have a lot of things that they are never going to unsee. You wouldn’t wish it on your worst enemy. I am doing this for the right reasons, when I finish the race, I will get a medal but I will take it off and give it to Mollie because she is the victim in all this really.”
To support Chris in championing Dorothy House Hospice Care, visit his fundraising page https://shorturl.at/7LYmj
