By Sheila Hulme, Mark’s wife:
Mark, my husband, died from Pulmonary Fibrosis last year, sadly I had not heard of this dreadful disease until Mark was diagnosed with it 7 years ago. Within weeks of diagnosis, he became increasingly ill and became more dependant on oxygen as his lungs ceased to function properly. He knew it was a terminal disease, but typical of Mark he handled it with great dignity and courage.
As the years passed by, he became more breathless and limited in his mobility. He ended up being on oxygen 24 hours a day and virtually housebound.
Mark was a man with a huge zest for life and to see that gradually ebb away, day by day, was devastating for me and the family. Everyone who knew him will always remember his wonderful sense of humour and he just lived to laugh; sadly, in the end, he could not even laugh as it just took too much out of him.
I am desperate to raise the awareness of Pulmonary Fibrosis by supporting the charity Breathing Matters. This charity helps to fund University College London which is one of the leading research establishments trying to find a cure for Pulmonary Fibrosis.
How can you help? I have assembled a team who intend to walk the South Downs Way which is 100 miles long and will take us 6 gruelling days, believe me when I say gruelling! It is a tough one as we are busy training on the Downs in preparation for the walk on 4th May 2013.
WE NEED YOUR SPONSORSHIP TO HELP UCL TO CONTINUE THEIR RESEARCH SO OTHERS DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER AS MARK DID.
Who are the team? Myself, his elder brother PJ, his two cousins Jeremy and Crispen, his brother-in-law Harvey and his good friend Matt.
The walk itself will start in Winchester and will be over 6 consecutive legs ending in Eastbourne. We would welcome anyone that wants to join us on any of the legs. I will let you know at a later date where we will be starting each day and where we will be staying.
Please, please help if you can – http://www.justgiving.com/PeterHulme.
Thank you.