Running with Refugees
Throughout January, Rory and I took part in the 'Running with Refugees' virtual run. Proceeds from the run go towards UNHCR, helping people who are struggling in refugee camps around the world.
80 years ago, Rory's mother, Ilse and her two sisters came to England on the Kindertransport after Hitler's annexation of Austria. As a result, throughout her life Ilse passionately supported charities which offered help to refugee children. So, when we signed up for 'Running with Refugees' just before Christmas, we thought it was quite an appropriate event to be involved with. However, we didn't then realise quite how appropriate a tribute it would turn out to be.
In the New Year, Ilse was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She was given just weeks to live. January for us was a sad and somewhat surreal month, splitting our time between home and trips down to West Sussex to visit Ilse, first in hospital and later in a nursing home. It was a month filled with sadness but also with a huge amount of love as we helped Ilse to enjoy the days she had left, but also said our goodbyes.
And we ran. We ran in the sunshine; we ran in the frost. We ran when it was so cold, my eyes were streaming and I could hardly see where I was going. We ran along the country lanes of West Wittering and to the beach. We took in every detail, knowing that we were saying goodbye to the area too, filling our senses, making memories, revisiting places that had been captured so beautifully in Ilse's many paintings over the years. Rory struggled with a painful calf. My thigh niggled as usual. But we kept running, because every step was for Ilse and for all those children like her who might be able to leave a life of danger behind and come to a safe place where they can grow up to have a rich and happy life and, who knows, maybe some of them might even become great artists too one day. At times it seemed almost unbearably poignant that we were involved in 'Running with Refugees' in what turned out to be the last month of Ilse's life, but it made us all the more determined to complete the challenge.
Ilse died peacefully on 3rd February. Our medals arrived on the day she was laid to rest. I know she would be proud.
80 years ago, Rory's mother, Ilse and her two sisters came to England on the Kindertransport after Hitler's annexation of Austria. As a result, throughout her life Ilse passionately supported charities which offered help to refugee children. So, when we signed up for 'Running with Refugees' just before Christmas, we thought it was quite an appropriate event to be involved with. However, we didn't then realise quite how appropriate a tribute it would turn out to be.
In the New Year, Ilse was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She was given just weeks to live. January for us was a sad and somewhat surreal month, splitting our time between home and trips down to West Sussex to visit Ilse, first in hospital and later in a nursing home. It was a month filled with sadness but also with a huge amount of love as we helped Ilse to enjoy the days she had left, but also said our goodbyes.
And we ran. We ran in the sunshine; we ran in the frost. We ran when it was so cold, my eyes were streaming and I could hardly see where I was going. We ran along the country lanes of West Wittering and to the beach. We took in every detail, knowing that we were saying goodbye to the area too, filling our senses, making memories, revisiting places that had been captured so beautifully in Ilse's many paintings over the years. Rory struggled with a painful calf. My thigh niggled as usual. But we kept running, because every step was for Ilse and for all those children like her who might be able to leave a life of danger behind and come to a safe place where they can grow up to have a rich and happy life and, who knows, maybe some of them might even become great artists too one day. At times it seemed almost unbearably poignant that we were involved in 'Running with Refugees' in what turned out to be the last month of Ilse's life, but it made us all the more determined to complete the challenge.
Ilse died peacefully on 3rd February. Our medals arrived on the day she was laid to rest. I know she would be proud.
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