The husband of a West Belfast woman says he is in awe of her every day as she continues her recovery following a breast cancer diagnosis.
It is coming up to two years since Carol McCrea was diagnosed with breast cancer, turning her family's lives completely upside down. Her young children were left terrified at the thought of losing their mummy.
Speaking to Belfast Live, John McCrea spoke about a running challenge he will embark on this summer, to give back to a local charity that helped his wife throughout the diagnosis.
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"Carol was 38 when she was diagnosed with cancer," the Andersonstown man said.
"Although now in recovery, Carol requires more surgery as a preventative measure and to alleviate some pain shes been experiencing since having a double mastectomy.
"At times Carol's life is full of anxiety but she is so resilient. Carol would go to the gym and try to keep fit. She is so dedicated and tries her best in every aspect of life. She volunteers as a football coach too, she tries not to let it stop her. When her body allows her, she does all she can.
"When Carol was diagnosed, she was put in touch with Pretty N Pink Breast Cancer Charity who have been brilliant. They offer massage therapies, help towards costs things such as wigs, and they have helped me too, and the kids.
"Attending Pretty n Pink during for alternative therapies with Kim was Carol's only real rest bite during Chemotherapy, where she met with people going through similar. I availed of their services myself which i found helpful too, being able to relate to Leanne who runs Pretty n Pink who herself wasn't a sufferer but did have a family member going through the same thing, which helped me understand my own feelings too and how natural they were.
"They couldn't do enough for us. Now I want to give back to them."
John will be taking part in run from Andersonstown to Newcastle on Sunday, June 4, which clocks over 30 miles or 50kms of running. It is something he has never attempted before, but says if it can raise some money for Pretty N Pink, it will be worth it.
"I will not be doing it alone," he added.
"My young friend Decky Monaghan will be joining me for this entire run and helping fundraise. Donations will be very much appreciated and anyone can donate via our Just Giving page link, with all the donations going straight to helping Pretty n Pink, Breast Cancer Charity. Carol is even chipping in with the mileage and going to join us on the last 10km of the run, a distance I know will be a real struggle for her considering the side effects of her medication.
"Pretty N Pink is an amazing charity with amazing people working and volunteering in it and I feel like this run is the least I can do to try and help raise funds for them, to help our community."
Please follow this link for more information on how to donate to Pretty N Pink.
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