THE wife of Andover man who died after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer will climb Kilimanjaro in honour of her late husband.
Cheryl Morgan, 57, will climb Kilimanjaro on Friday, February 2 with her close friend Lorna Warmington, 55, to raise money for Sarcoma UK.
The epic climb follows the death of Cheryl’s husband Martin, in March last year, after developing sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that develops in bones or soft tissue.
Martin was first diagnosed with cancer in 1996 which was treated with surgery and chemotherapy, but it returned in 2011.
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“He went to night school to learn Spanish, developed an interest in foraging fungi, and crafted furniture. He loved being told a story, telling stories, meeting friends and new people, travelling to new places and experiencing anything he could."
Martin and Cheryl enjoyed going on long walks together, walking the Camino de Santiago in 2016, an extensive network of ancient routes across Europe ending at the tomb of Saint James in Spain, resulting in them travelling 750 miles in six weeks.
Unfortunately, after returning from the trip, Martin developed another tumour, a sarcoma, for which he received treatment at Southampton hospital, which Cheryl called ‘exemplary’.
Martin sadly died on March 16, 2023, at the age of 68 after his battle with cancer and is missed every day by Cheryl, as well as his children, grandchildren, family, and friends.
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Cheryl and Lorna will climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest peak in Africa, in February, with all money raised donated to Sarcoma UK, a national charity funding vital research and offering support to anyone affected by sarcoma cancer, campaigning for better treatments against the cancers.
At the time of writing, Cheryl and Lorna have raised £4,554 for the charity, over double their original target of £2,000.
“I know he would absolutely be cheering me and Lorna on, and would not even doubt for a minute that we will not manage it, and it is with this attitude that we approach it," said Cheryl.
Cheryl and Lorna started a training programme 16 weeks ago in preparation for the climb, which has included walking in the Pewsey dales, the Peak District and the South Coast path, as well as doing over eight hours of walking on the weekend and taking part in swimming and Pilates during the week.
“To help with fundraising, we held an African-themed fancy dress party in November, selling raffle tickets for prizes, some of these were kindly donated by Tesco and Twinings in Andover, as well as a holiday in Devon donated by friend Debbie Joss," Cheryl said.
“The British Legion was kindly donated for free, and disco was kindly donated by Bob Ness Entertainment.
“We even had the Feathers Fangs and Furries fundraising group doing a star turn, much to the delight of our granddaughter Rosa who was distraught at having to leave the giant monkey to go home. Our ticket sells for these events raised just under £1,500.”
To support Cheryl and Lorna’s climb in memory of Martin, visit justgiving.com/page/cheryl-lorna-1693423514849.
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