Papa's 100 Bike Rides - Part 2

As many of you may be aware back in April 2021 my dad, Frank McEwan took on ‘Papa’s 100 Bike Rides’. His aim was to cycle around Rutland Water 100 times, completing 1700 miles all whilst receiving treatment for his terminal cancer diagnosis. He completed this with in a matter of weeks, proudly raising thousands of pounds for Cancer Research.

Guess what????

He’s decided to do it all again, this time raising funds for Leicester Royal Infirmary Chemo Suite to say thank you for the amazing care he receives and where he spends so much of his time.

Starting on Monday 1st July dad will be taking on ‘Papa’s 100 Bike Rides – Part 2’. You will see him cycling around Rutland water come rain or shine with his high vis on, and as always, he’d love some company.

Please give what you can to support this wonderful husband, dad and papa on his charity bike ride in aid of Leicester Royal Infirmary Chemo Suite.

Below details Dad’s story…

As many of you may be aware my Dad, Frank was diagnosed with cancer in October 2018. Initially the doctors found a tumour in his thorax which led them to finding two more tumours, one in his right lung and one in his left kidney. Within a few weeks my dad had most of his lung removed. It was life changing for us as family. The leader of our clan was now the one who needed looking after, something that not one of us ever felt would happen.

Whilst healing and preparing for his next operation, dad was taken back into hospital numerous times, having to call 999 and to be ready to give him CPR is something myself and mum will never forget. Eventually, he was diagnosed with Atrial fibrillation, this made his heartbeat abnormally fast which in turn made his breathing even more difficult, even without the missing lung and huge amounts of healing. During this last stay in hospital, the doctors had yet another setback for him. They found that his diaphragm had been ruptured and had moved up into the empty lung space making breathing a huge task. He was told that they could possibly operate again to reattach it. His reply “sign me up, I’m in your hands!”

In February 2019, still recovering my dad was back in hospital to have his kidney removed, the site where this dreadful disease had started its horrendous journey. He recovered at home with mum looking after the tricky patient. It felt like huge relief. The doctors were confident that they had removed all the cancer and dad could begin to get ‘some kind of normal’ life back again. Dad went back into hospital in April to have his diaphragm reattached, unfortunately it didn’t work and has made it generally harder for dad to breath. Dad took this in his stride and just wanted to be able to get back on his bike! Which he managed at the end of May with his little buddy, Ted in tow.

We had a number of months with only scans to worry about, normal life had almost returned. Ted and Papa were up to their usual shenanigans, bike rides, sleepovers, swimming or a sneaky trip to Maccie D’s.

In February 2020, dad went to see his doctor, who had some devastating news. The cancer was terminal, it had spread to his other lung, and he had numerous tumours throughout it. He was offered dual treatment, which he decided not to take as it would have a huge effect on the quality of his life. As a family we agreed that if he felt he was managing, we would hold off from treatment for as long as we could. By August dad was asked by his doctor “when is enough cancer enough?”

Dad started treatment at the beginning of September 2020. He currently doing well and continues to receive daily treatment at home and a hospital admission once every two weeks. As always, dad is goes at it with his military attitude, regardless of how awful the side effects are or how poorly he is feeling.

If you would like to join a bike ride please get in touch, both you and I know he would love the company. We will keep you updated on his progress through his fundraising page and Facebook page ‘Papa’s 100 Bike Rides – Part 2’. If you are able to donate it would be hugely appreciated as without the LRI Chemo Suite and the amazing medical teams; we don’t believe dad would be with us today.

Once again, thank you for supporting this wonderful man!

Frank, Rita, Andrea, Matt and Teddy xxx