Inspirations

I have hinted a couple of times that there has been "something else" going on in the last few weeks, and I feel like it is now time to tell you about it.  I mentioned in one of my first triathlon-related posts that one of the motivating factors for me deciding to do the triathlon was that I wanted to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care because, like so many other people, my life has been touched by cancer recently. I was referring to several friends and relatives who have had to put up with what this horrible disease has thrown at them, some of them with better results than others.

My Uncle Donald was diagnosed with cancer just over six months ago.  He battled on valiantly for a while, with the help and support of my parents (with whom he lived) but, after a three week stay in hospital, he died two weeks ago, aged 90.*  He had family around him in his last days and we were even able to take Polly the greyhound into the hospital to see him, which lifted his spirits immeasurably.  The nurses and other staff at the Royal Derby Hospital were fantastic and did everything they could to make him comfortable.  Yesterday, we held his funeral, including a beautiful, uplifting celebration of his life at my parents' local church.

Uncle Donald was an integral part of my childhood.  He lived with my parents the whole of my life (in fact, almost the whole of my Mum's life) and was always there to pick me up and dust me off, to play silly games, to argue with, to sing with while we did the washing up - I hated doing the washing up and would do pretty much anything to get out of it, so he got me involved by teaching me Welsh folk songs that I still remember.  There were a couple of occasions when I was having some kind of crisis at university and I phoned home to find my parents were out and it was he who sorted me out.  We had lots of shared memories - I remember when his beloved Coventry City played the FA Cup semi-final in 1987 (the year they ultimately went on to win the Cup!) and neither of us could eat our lunch nor watch the match and we ended up playing football outside to take our minds off it while my Mum gave us goal updates.  When he went to the final, I made him a little teddy bear called Oggy (after then Coventry goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic) to take with him as a mascot - he kept it and even talked about it the last time I saw him in hospital.

He wasn't a perfect man - he was opinionated, stubborn and cantankerous at times, but his heart was made of purest gold and I miss him terribly.  He would do anything for anyone, always on the look out for ways he could help other people.  I particularly remember him visiting a lady who was the mother of a work colleague of his who had died very young.  He would do her shopping, help organise her life in general, spend time talking to her - all those things her son would have done had he still been around.

I am extremely grateful to have had Uncle Donald in my life, and I know I am a richer person for having known him and loved him.

When I started out in my plan for world triathlon domination, my intention was to do it in support of Uncle Donald in his struggle against cancer.  However, my focus has shifted a little and I will now be participating in the triathlon and raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care in his memory.

Donald Sparkes
1923-2014

* I should just say here that my parents have done their level best to let all Donald's family and friends know of his passing, including putting notices in the local papers in Derby and Coventry, where he spent most of his life, so if this is the first time you are hearing this news, I am very sorry that they have not been in touch - it was certainly not intentional.