Ambleside runner to complete Cumbrian Way in memory of mum who died earlier this year (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Ambleside runner to complete Cumbrian Way in memory of mum who died earlier this year

12:20pm Tuesday 6th March 2012 in News By Rachel Ryan

An Ambleside man who lost his mum this year to a brain tumour is running a well-loved 70 mile route in the Lake District to raise cash for the people who cared for her.

David Candlin, 27, is aiming to complete the Cumbrian Way in under 24-hours to boost cash for Castleberg Hospital in Giggleswick.

Denise Candlin died of a brain tumour on January 24 this year at the North Yorkshire hospital.

Mr Candlin said that his 57-year-old mum, who had lived in Austwick, had been a ‘perfectly healthy’ woman and that her illness had come as a shock.

He said: “ She was initially diagnosed with an inner ear infection and told that she would get better. After several weeks of deteriorating poor health she was finally taken for a brain scan which revealed a large tumour on the front right hand side of her brain.

"This was later diognosed, four days before Christmas, as a type 4, terminal brain tumour with a 0 per cent chance of survival.”

“The way in which they looked after my mum was fantastic and they did everything to make her comfortable. "

David Candlin

But he said that after having surgery his mum spent her last days at the Castleberg Hospital, where he said that the staff were ‘inspirational’.

“The way in which they looked after my mum was fantastic and they did everything to make her comfortable.

"They also offered lots of support to me and the rest of the family and they are still offering that help and support now,” said Mr Candlin, who works at Epicentre in Ambleside.

He said that following his mum’s death he wanted to raise cash for equipment at the hospital and to raise the hospitals profile.

“I just wanted to do something to say thank you,” added Mr Candlin, who is planning to complete the Ulverston-to-Carlisle route in May.

Mr Candlin, a keen runner, will cut through classic Lakeland landscapes including Langdale, Borrowdale and Derwent Water on his challenge which he is training hard for.

“I am scared about it and completing it in under 24 hours will be a challenge.

"I do not have a set figure which I am looking at raising but want to raise as much as I can.”

Maureen Greenwood, clinical lead at Castleberg Hospital, has said that the hospital is ‘over the moon’ with Mr Candlin’s efforts.

“It is a lovely gesture. The money will be used to buy specialist equipment for the hospital where we have ten inpatient beds for people who require end of life care.”

To help Mr Candlin raise cash for the cause email him on davidcandlin@hotmail.com http://www.justgiving.com/David-Candlin0