About me

I am undertaking a sponsored walk starting in late January 2008, from Gosport to Rome, a total of approximately 1,250 miles in memory of my late wife Anne with the aim of raising monies for charities that Anne supported. The name we have chosen for the walk is "Return to Romance" and stands for Return to ROMe for ANne and CharitiEs.

The beneficiaries of my walk will be Action Aid, two local charities; Harbour Cancer Support Centre based in Gosport and the Friends of Oncology and Radiotherapy Cancer Charity (FORT) based at St Mary’s Hospital Portsmouth which supports cancer patients and their families across Southern Hampshire, Eastern Hampshire and West Sussex. The fourth is organised by the Catholic Church in Gosport, which is twinned with the parish of Mbetta in Cameroon and raises funds for education, health as well as pastoral projects in the area.

Please note that each of the four charities will recieve an equal share of all monies raised.

To sponsor me, either copy the folowing link into your toolbar (www.justgiving.com/nigelhearnden) or follow the link to my website on the left of this page.

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 and where we were married in 1976.

Anne was first diagnosed with cancer in August 2001 and over the next four years, suffered from three types: Hodgkin’s lymphoma, bowel cancer and liver cancer (twice). During that period, Anne underwent chemotherapy via peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC lines)for over 20 months and had three major operations until she was told she was in remission from the Hodgkin’s, clear of bowel cancer, had recovered from her latest liver surgery and had been given the all clear by her surgeon, much to mine and her family’s relief.

Having fully recovered, she commenced a precautionary course of chemotherapy in early November 2005 to eradicate any rogue cells that may have remained. Unfortunately, on 23 November Anne developed what appeared to be flu, hospital tests did not reveal anything suspicious and she appeared to be recovering. Her sudden and unexpected death on the 26 November 2005 aged 48 turned out to be due to a rapidly developed infection in her heart.

Anne was a qualified midwife and nurse and from day one she never complained or wanted to hide away and was determined to win her battles. Whenever able, 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.

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.

The photograph is courtesy of my local paper THE NEWS who have covered the story from day one.