A family will be taking on a bike ride and walk in aid of St Barnabas and in memory of their treasured Boston Grandad
Lauren Shephard, along with her family (ages ranging from 4 to 60), will be completing a Boston bike ride and walk in memory of her Grandad, to boost funds for the charity who helped care for him in his final days.
Ron Baring, 85, was diagnosed with tongue cancer and secondary lung cancer shortly after his 85th birthday, and sadly died on June 1st 2018.
Lauren decided to raise money for St Barnabas Hospice to thank them for their support. She said:
“We are so grateful for all the help that all the nurses gave my Grandad. It really does mean a lot. Watching someone you love with cancer is truly one of the hardest things to watch. You feel helpless and all you want is to take their pain away. When the nurses turn up they ease not just their patient, but the whole family too.
“St Barnabas always kept my Grandad’s dignity and put him at ease. They understood how scared he was feeling and they managed to put him at ease and keep him comfortable.”
On Saturday 20th October, Lauren’s father and brother will be cycling 136 miles from Orpington to Boston. The rest of the family will join the challenge on Sunday 21st October as they take on a walk from Skegness, a place their Grandad loved to eat Fish and Chips, to Burton House in Boston, where their Grandad often treated the whole family to meals out.
Lauren said:
“We wanted to do something special for Grandad, something to really push ourselves. He was a family orientated man; he had seven kids and lots of grandchildren – he doted on all of them!
“A memory that sticks out when I think of him is from when I was a kid. He’d make us ice creams dipped in hundreds and thousands as a special treat. Everyone loved visiting Nan and Grandad because Grandad would make everyone smile.”
If you wish to support Lauren and her family during their cycling and walking challenge, please click here to donate.
Lauren said:
“If Grandad knew about what we were doing for him he’d tell us that we were bonkers but he would be really proud. He’d pack us a basket full of food, definitely including pork pies!”
If you would like to take on a challenging event in support of St Barnabas Hospice, please view our challenge page or contact Mike Pastor at mike.pastor@stbarnabashospice.co.uk or call 01522 540 300.