- This event has passed.
Thank you so much to all that took part in both events. Here is a photo of Dan and some pictures of the events – as well as a few words below from Dan’s wife Stella.
Brighton Marathon above – (left to right) Stella, Michelle who ran, Becky and Sally – Dan’s daughters.
Below – Dan’s friend Mitch – and organiser Terry. Thank you all very much.
On 26th August 2011, friends and family of my late husband Dan Crowley held a Golf Day in memory of him and to raise money for MDS.
It was a very successful day and we were all amazed at how much money was raised.
The golfers arrived early to a wet and miserable start, but were greeted with a welcoming coffee and bacon butties – just the way to get the party off with a swing, some friends making an extra special journey travelling from as far away as Devon and France. The weather didn’t improve for most of the day, in fact it poured most of the time but golfers being golfers are a hardy lot and certainly didn’t let it spoil the day!!!
Our daughters organized a bar on the 12th hole, where the golfers happily donated for whatever drink they fancied. There was even a ‘hole in one’ shot bar which at a £1 a go was very popular with both the golfers and some of the spectators. As you can imagine quite a lot was collected!!! This was also a good place to meet everyone that played before going back to the clubhouse and hearing how well or badly their game was going and just catching up with old and new friends. Some players even visited the bar again from the 14th hole.
Once the golf was over, it was back to the club house for a lovely dinner of ham, egg and chips which went down very well. After dinner came the raffle and auction, we had been exceptionally lucky and had been given some very generous prizes. Both the raffle and auction raised a lot more money than we had hoped. Everyone was very generous and really enjoyed themselves. It was lovely to see so many friends and family raising money for an illness that most of us had been lucky enough never to heard of before Dan was diagnosed and giving their time and money so freely.
MDS was something we had never heard of before Dan was diagnosed. He was amazing the way he coped with his illness – as are most cancer sufferers. Along with the illness came lots of restrictions on our social life this being due to the risks of infections. We had never considered how this type of illness could affect things we took for granted however Dan being Dan made sure we found different ways to enjoy life. Instead of going to crowded restaurants we went for picnics – even when visiting the hospitals!!! The crowded evening cinemas became replaced with lunch time trips which gave a huge choice of seats and no one rustling the sweet papers in your ears.
Walking in the local park was something we came to really enjoy. Friends and family were also very supportive and instead of going out for meals changed their evenings and invited us round for dinner. Simple things became so much more important.
Life can seem very bleak when you are diagnosed with a terrible illness but Dan always said he wanted to make the most of it and didn’t want people to ever feel sorry for him or awkward in his company. He enjoyed his life as best he could and I was so lucky to share it with him and am so proud of him for making it so much easier to cope with for myself and our daughters.
Let’s hope that by helping to raise some money it will go towards helping others with MDS.
Stella Crowley
