An East Lancashire man is set to embark on a 25-mile walk in memory of his late fiancée, who died of cancer.
He will also be raising money for the organisation that helped her.
Donald Wharton, from Cherry Tree, is set to walk 25-miles from Blackburn to Blackpool on April 15.
This walk is in honour of his late fiancée, Louise Child, who died on June 8, 2022, after battling acute myeloid leukemia.
The mum-of-two battled four rounds of chemotherapy and gruelling stem cell transplants while trying to beat the cancer.
She was told she was in remission in March 2022 but the cancer returned in April, when Louise was told she had just weeks to live.
Donald, 33, said: “It’s been tough but I have two children to look after so I can’t let it get to me.
"The kids are doing well, all things considered, and I just have to keep going for her.
“She wouldn’t want us to be upset and stop living our lives. She was a brilliant woman and she changed my life.”
Louise was diagnosed with leukaemia in April 2021 while 32 weeks pregnant with her second son, Harvey.
After going for a blood test for a sore mouth, Louise, from Feniscowles, received a dreaded call from Blackpool Hospital telling her to come to see them immediately.
On April 17, the family’s world changed forever after Louise's leukaemia diagnosis.
Doctors told her she would have to give birth the following Monday, which was eight weeks sooner than her due date.
Louise had her first session of chemotherapy just one hour after giving birth.
Donald said he has chosen to walk from Blackburn to Blackpool as this was the same journey Louise made in her car, before receiving the devastating cancer diagnosis.
He said: “I’m doing the walk as close as possible to the date Louise got the phone call to head up to the Haematology ward.
“This was when she found out she had acute myeloid leukemia and doctors told us they would deliver the baby on the following Monday.”
He will also be raising money for The Blue Skies Hospital Fund, the charity dedicated to enhancing patient care for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
He want funds to be donated to Duncan House at Blackpool Hospital, where the family stayed while Louise was given chemotherapy in hospital.
Donald said: “This is where I stopped with Louise and our new baby when she was going through chemotherapy.
“It was a long distance away so it was so lovely they gave me the option to stay overnight.
“This enabled me to go to sleep and wake up with her, keep her company and tell her everything was going to be okay.
“Staff were amazing and so caring. They were almost like family.”
Donald has already raised more than £670 but hope to raise more.
He said: “It’s going to be an emotional and difficult day I think but I really want to do it to show my appreciation to the hospital.
“It’s a long walk is 25 miles. I don’t even know if I will make it.
“I haven’t done a lot of training but I’ll just put one foot in front of the other and keep going.
“The amount of support I have received so far is amazing. It just goes to show how much everyone cared about Louise. She was a wonderful woman.”
Donald is also hosting a football cards fundraiser to raise money for the East Lancashire Hospice. He has raised more than £800 for the charity so far.
To make a donation visit Donald’s JustGiving page here.
You can also enter the football card draws by visiting the Dons Footy Card page on Facebook.
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