This year I am once again doing the London triathlon for a breast cancer charity – this year by becoming a part of the team which is supporting the Breast Cancer Campaign.My mother died from her breast cancer in 1999 – a full 15 years after her initial diagnosis, after being given 2 all clears, and after being given only 6 months to live (which she surpassed by 10 years). Since 2003 I have raised money for breast cancer charities, funnelling the grief from losing my mother into challenges to raise money to help others – today and in the future – as they battle breast cancer, and in the search for prevention and cure. In 2003 I walked the half marathon midnight Moonwalk, and as we walked through the night and saw dark turn into dawn, I felt my mother by my side. Her memory has been a constant source of inspiration and courage as I have taken on physical charity fundraising challenges. Since then, I have walked a marathon, done the 60k weekend for Breakthrough Breast Cancer, and have done the London triathlon twice (2007 and 2008).My mother taught me to swim when I was barely 6 months old, she taught me to ride a bike when I was 9, she held my hands when I started to walk, and she would be dead-impressed to see me trying to learn how to run again as she was with me when I had knee-releases done in 1984. She had a wicked sense of humour and a dogged sense of determination. She believed in approaching problems from all angles. She accepted our faults. She taught us to brush ourselves off when we were down and to come back stronger from our defeats. She had a deep sense of service and compassion, and always helped others in need, putting in extra time and energy with her young patients and their families (she was a nurse in a paediatric critical care ward). She was tolerant of our wild ways as teenagers. She taught us to drive and gave us our freedom, confident that we would respect the love which she gave to us and not stray too far from her for too long. My mother will once again be by my side in spirit on August 1st, as I jump into the Thames to swim, circle the Excel Center by bike, and attempt to jog at least part of the triathlon.Thanks Mom.Note: to donate to Donna’s London triathlon for the Breast Cancer Campaign, please visit www.justgiving.com/donna_de
