Category Archives: Blog

We are nearly there!

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Blog, Tony

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We may have lost our inspiration but the fight goes on, Colin would not have wanted it any other way. His passing has just made it even more important that we do not let this disease beat us!

The good news is that Mick Ward has just been awarded £1000 by his companies charity committee. Xylem Water Solutions in Letchworth considered over 20 applications and stated that the Headcase Charity ‘stood out’. It just goes to show that a few minutes to write an email can pay huge dividends.

Great job Mick and thanks very much XYLEM.

The “Last Post”

22 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by in Blog, Colin's Blog

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Helen’s Blog (22/7/13)
Well, my Colin has gained his wings. What a hard road that man travelled! It’s kinda funny because at the beginning I promised him that he would never ever die anywhere but home. I meant every word, but, as time passed, it soon became evident that despite all the skills I had acquired, I could not cope with his total needs and I will always carry an element of guilt.

From a strong independent man who had the full respect and trust of his family, he was stripped by this horrible disease of every element and aspect of his personality. A personality that was so strong that everybody in the family (even though they had all formed separate units) trusted him to make financial decisions and hold all their important documents. We had faith in his every word. From almost the beginning though, it became evident that the kids would have to control their own paperwork and finances as Colin was increasingly confused and forgetful. The kids had to handle the financial decisions themselves and it was a very sad day when it became obvious that this was the only course of action.

The months I have recently spent with Colin have been very hard at times but I have also had some very good times as, despite that bitch of a tumour “Camilla”, his sense of humour always seemed to shine through and this made everything much more bearable.

All treatment for Colin was stopped in February and Colin was fine for a while except for his immobility and increasing confusion. At the end of May Colin started to have horrendous hallucinations which went on for several days and I had to call upon both our boys to help calm him down and reassure him that what he was seeing was indeed was indeed not reality – just illusions. Colin was admitted then to the hospice for the second time so that they could help alleviate the visions and reduce his constant state of agitation.

I have never been so grateful for anything in my whole life as I was for the offer of help from Garden House Hospice in Letchworth. They controlled his medication (it took 8 or 9 days to get the combination right) and then his health began a sharp decline – Camilla the tumour was on the march. We all realised that now his time was short but I was able to be Colin’s wife again and not just a carer. We spent quality family time and often cried together but, we also laughed – boy did we all do that! We still continued to take the mick big time. Tommy played the answer phone message from Colin requesting Tom’s immediate presence and then apologising because he (Colin) couldn’t find his phone! He had not realised he was using it!!! We all know that if the situation was reversed, Colin’s banter would be relentless

Colin started to lose his ability to swallow as well as many other abilities. About 2 weeks ago the food that he was offered was refused and when he opened his mouth to eat he was unable to chew and swallow he became weaker and weaker until he eventually became unconscious on Sunday.

On Monday he was put on the Liverpool care pathway, the most heart wrenching time imaginable. He had no nourishment or fluids and eventually fell into an unresponsive state of unconsciousness.

We as a family stayed with him constantly, he was never once alone day or night, it really strengthened our family unit beyond all of our expectations. This mortal man, Colin Smith, could not have had a more genuine love and adulation from his children than if he had been a god. We all love the man that was, not the shell of a man that Colin had become and I think that is why this type of cancer is so very cruel. When the end came for us as a family it was a release from a life robbing illness that had taken every aspect of Colin’s personality and dignity. We love and miss him more than any words can convey. He was always larger than life and always reducing me to side splitting laughter in every situation.
Goodbye my lovely man, my love now, forever and always, Helen

The Funeral will take place at St. Mary’s church Baldock,on Thursday the 1st August at 1 pm, then to the cemetery which is all in walking distance, followed by a celebration of Colin’s life at the Orange Tree pub, that is on the corner of the Cemetery.

Passing of a Legend

21 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in Blog, Tony

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Colin & Helen

Today we lost our legend, Colin passed away at 4:30 am this morning. When we first heard about Colin’s situation, you always believe it will be okay, but as this an aggressive unrelenting and terrible disease takes hold it becomes clear it will be a battle, and to make it worse Colin’s complications prevented the drugs he needed to keep it at bay. However throughout this ordeal Colin displayed astonishing strength, being positive and pragmatic at the same time.

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He made it easy for everyone of us by being very open about his plight, prepared to openly talk about it and keep us amused with his legendary humour ! He attended all the Chelsea games including the final in Amsterdam, what strength and determination he showed.

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He always made us laugh and never played the “why me” card, staggering. He was supported by a top family now led by Helen, who also showed tremendous strength of character during the past year.

Going to Chelsea will never be the same, however we know that the supporters club in the sky will now be chaired by one of our own.

WEB ONLY_DO NOT PRINT_HEADCASE FINAL DESIGN (2) Colin, it was a real pleasure to have known you and to have shared so many laughs and great times, Munich possibly being the highlight.

You will always be in our thoughts and you will be missed by us all.

Thanks for the great memories xx

OMG its only 2 weeks!

10 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Blog, Three Peaks

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480042_10151082027680708_247146425_nWhilst out on their weekly run around Hatfield, Paul and Nick suddenly came to the realisation that the challenge is now just over 2 weeks away! It’s definitely come around quicker than we thought! However, this must have spurred them on as they clocked their quickest time yet for 4 miles, at just under 30 minutes! That’s around 7m 30s a mile!

James has been back home in London for the last 2 weeks, so not too sure what training he’s up to at the moment. Daniel, it seems, has taken a break from training and been enjoying the sun a bit too much, if his red face and panda eyes are anything to go by!

Climbing has taken a bit of back-burner for Nick since that lovely hand injury a couple of weeks ago (thanks Paul for stealing the picture from Facebook!). Nick has actually been exercising most week nights (in addition to the weekly runs with Paul) for the last month, with the aim of doing some cardio work each evening. He has also been doing a lot of swimming to improve general fitness, having been swimming 1-1.5 km at least 2-3 times a week. He even managed to swim a 16 minute km just over a week ago!

So training is going well and we all can’t believe that the challenge is now only just over 2 weeks away! But we’re all excited and very much looking forward to it!

A massive congratulations to Tony and Dan for completing the Ironman challenge a couple of weeks ago. It really is a super-human feat and the training and effort they both put into completing it is remarkable. Respect to you both!

Thank you for your continued support for us and for Headcase Cancer Trust!

All quiet on the western front – We’re Back…

05 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by in Blog, Three Peaks

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A week off for the Russell legs to recover, and for the supporters to regain use of their larynx’s. But the mission to raise funds for Headcase Cancer Trust is far from over. Now we turn our attentions to the second of the challenges, The Three Peaks Challenge. This is being attempted by Paul, Nick, James and Dan and they will run, hike or crawl to the peaks of the three highest mountains in Britain:  Snowden in Wales, Scarfell in England and Ben Nevis in Scotland – all within 24 hours. The difficulty of the challenge shouldn’t be underestimated, It is very easy to get lost, particularly when mountains need to be climbed in the dark or in poor weather

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For your delight @IMHeadcase is now following @TheThreePeaks so latest updates on the challenge news will be retweeted, and so Editor returns seeking out the stories to bring you the latest news and continue to attempt to prise open your wallets … over to you Paul-

Photos 1“Training is now well underway for all the guys with the 3 peaks challenge just a few weeks away now.

Paul, Nick and James have been running regularly around the Hatfield and St.Albans area. Running about 4-5miles each time, fitness is gradually improving.

Nick and James have also been down at the universities, sports village climbing wall. Although the challenge itself won’t involve climbing quite like this, it’s been a great way to further improve general fitness. With the odd injury here and there, Nick still thinks its well worth it…

Dan has been training back down in Bournemouth, having returned home after the uni term. Dan has also been completing regular running routes. Unfortunately with a nagging ankle injury, training has been difficult. Lets hope it doesn’t cause too much trouble for the challenge itself.

Please keep supporting headcase cancer trust!

More updates to come”

The Dust has Settled

26 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by in Blog, Dan, Tony

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Well well well, now that the dust has settled and the aches and pains have begun to subside, I guess it’s time to reflect on the past 7 Months. The first email went on the 13th November and went like this….

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TONY “I’m so close to entering a Ironman”

DAN    “I think I’m gonna do it. I think I have to be there if you’re gonna do it and watching just wont be enough, Having said that, I am actually leaning towards Nice. I know the bike is harder but the times last year are a lot quicker….. It works better for me date wise as well. 

The run course is flat as a pancake as well…..”

TONY  “OK so …… Is that a date ? If we do it we should do sponsorship and I would like to do it for Colin ?” 

DAN     “I think if I don’t do it now I will just wish I had sooooo………………IT’S A DATE! (heart racing right now)  And yes, 100% should be done for Colin”

TONY  “God ….. So is mine and my stomach has just churned !! “

Editor “what is it with these ‘….’ , is it hereditary too”
This exchange was followed by a string of further emails with language that’s not for public consumption thereafter it was set in stone, we had agreed to do an IRONMAN!. Research then helped decide on Nice and on the 17th November I told Colin we were going to do it and raise money for Headcase.

The journey had begun, however even before the blog and Justgiving sites were up things had become challenging, courtesy of Chelsea football club !

As we have said this was all about raising awareness and of course cash for Headcase and of course Colin’s plight. The money and ideas came rolling in and we were well and truly on our way.

The training became all consuming and Dan and I were constantly scaring each other with articles we had read about this challenge, but it was ok as it was months away ! My first visit to Dubai was not good as I had to drop out of the Abu Dhabi tri, which incidentally the same guy who won in Nice won there too, and Dan did brill. Second trip we really did work hard and we could sense we were getting there.

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In the meantime the money and efforts of you all was really amazing and the support and donations came rolling in along with some very moving messages for Colin, but the most amazing contributions were from Colin himself and latterly Helen, when ever a ‘Colin blog’ went up the visits to the site doubled in the day and sometimes trebled.

The months began to slip by and the big day came ever closer, but there was also continuous fund raising activity which was really inspiring and ensured total focus. And then bang its done and its over, but what a great day, just one of the best. But the fight goes on, at the time of writing we are just over £32,500 with gift aid, but I would still like to see the magical £30k appear without gift aid. But a job well done, THANKS.

So it would be remiss not to say a few thank you’s.

Firstly Kirstin who in the roll of  ‘Admin’  a term that started as a bit of a wind up but seems to have stuck, seriously what can I say, well the whole thing wouldn’t have been such a success without you, I guess being bossy helps, but you never let up and for that I thank you.
To our on the ground supporters amazing, I think their voices have now recovered. In addition Dan and I have been overwhelmed with the messages of support, it really did make a difference on those last few strides.To all our donators, not sure there is such a word, but you have been brilliant.

But most of all, thank you Colin, Helen and your family for allowing us to invade your lives at a time of total devastation; your openness, honesty and humour have been amazing and your continued drive to raise awareness and cash for Headcase is a tremendous demonstration of wanting to help others when it would be easy to disappear into your shell.  Even when we went to see Colin on Monday when we flew back he was still talking about the charity and donations, unbelievable !

So while this chapter comes to a close another inevitably opens, the boys are doing the three peaks challenge in a couple of weeks and I’m  sure we will think of something else mental to do in due course, but with the London Tri in five weeks its back to the gym. A million thanks to you all from Dan and me for making it bearable and actually fun, and my thoughts, as I know everyone’s are, are with Colin and Helen. TTFN

It was a Pleasure

24 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by in Blog, Editor's Posts

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SONY DSCI am not sure where my services will be needed next, and I am not sure what more there is to post on the Ironman journey itself other than the Guys are safely back home and probably currently sprogged out on a sofa in utter shattered silence. Colin’s journey is still very much our concern and I hope there is more to keep people up to date with as we all wish him and his lovely family every fortune possible.

I would like to thank David Russell for his sentiments in his comment, I hope everyone has enjoyed the ups and downs of the postings, not just during yesterday’s epic experience, I confess I certainly enjoyed the sun, but the tension was a little stomach churning at times.

I have spent the last 6 months as “Admin/Editor”, having been conned into the role with a rather pathetic request from Tony, for assistance to help set up a blog, please someone remind me that all that glitter is most certainly not gold. This has involved retweeting every tweet for IMHeadcase as well as writing original IMHeadcase tweets being continuously inventive in so few characters is challenging! Also the chasing of the guys for their training stats, excuse me boys we need this weeks please!!!), then being asked “why haven’t you updated the blog, 14 seconds after an email piece of editorial arrived, which often needed some serious proof reading – what is it with “…..” at the end of each sentence?

Late at night whilst uploading posts I have wept as posted Colin’s and Helen’s weekly updates, sometimes through hysterics sometimes from frustration on life’s judgments. I have sourced photos to match stories from every corner of Google Images and when there seemed no news to report, found some. The results of Triathlon competitions postings have enabled me to navigate the Triathlon technology services and find live update boards, stories and league tables, I have learnt about drafting, tapering, nutrition and a plethora of kit requirements, and if anyone thinks I have a problem with shoes, Lynn assures me now Tony could have out stripped the entire female supporters crowd with his store of old trainers!

The Lloyd’s the musical nearly led to fisticuffs over logistics, tickets, arrangements, and expectations. The need to chase donation pledges in ingenious ways to encourage those wallets to open and the vast array of people I have had the pleasure of meeting if only in most cases in the virtual world (must get out more). Even this weekend as bag minder, and chief bottle washer it fast unfolded that hotel booking requirements were needed on the ground with lastminute.com supporters group touching down with no guarantee of a beds to sleep in.

I do return with a scorched shoulders and a hoarse voice and a new interest to claim, every single competitor was an inspiration, and with that I will have to face the one bike ride a week and a few breast stroke lengths in the pool don’t really cut it. My son aged 15 has had his interest sparked and a new Tri-bike was sitting in the kitchen for him on Saturday

I could go on, there has been so much I have “won” from the involvement. But most of all it is firstly Colin that has brought us all together and then the rest of you for your comments and taking the time to read the blog that has made it worth it, oh and two nutters that diced with death one Summer Sunday in June.

I should make mention that is not too far from a reality as there was indeed on fatality on the course, a Briton who hit a wall on the bike. There was a minutes silence at the end of the race as a mark of respect. For those that haven’t heard their war stories yet – one includes the fact that Tony decided to stop on the ride to check a clicking noise on his bike only to find the wheel was loose, somewhere around the 40k mark! So when we all think how mad they are putting their bodies through such a heavy test, from slip and trips, rotator cuffs damage, knees and chest infections not withstanding but the race itself had additional dangers ever present.

I hope you will remember all that has been said and the fact that above all it has been to raise money for Headcase Cancer Trust as an attempt to find a cure to a horrid disease and save another family from what Colin and Helen are going through.

As Tony has said before, they were doing an “Ironman for a Top Man” and I claim the right to quote that here.

Kind regards to everyone, its been a priveledge …. Kirstin