A profoundly deaf woman who "gave up her whole life" to care for her father who was dying of brain cancer swam two miles in the Serpentine in his memory to help find a cure.
Rebecca Dandridge, a mum-of-two from Harrow, said she was "delirious" as she completed the sponsored swim in Hyde Park on Sunday in 2 hrs 15minutes and six seconds.
Her father Michael Dandridge was diagnosed with an inoperable tumour after suffering memory problems and had severe headaches - and in the final weeks of his life she gave up her job and moved away from her family to look after him.
Her father had taken her to swimming competitions in her childhood, so she "got back in the water" to raise money for the Brain Tumour Research charity.
But despite training at Hampstead Heath Ponds, the open air swim proved a gruelling undertaking.
She said: “It was a tough challenge, especially after the first mile, and much harder than my training prepared me for. I was delirious during the last half mile and kept talking to my parents, looking up at the sky, to keep me going.
“After, I found it hard to walk due to my false hip and fatigue. I had help in raising my arms in celebration and screamed with joy at the finish.
"The crowd was wonderful and the support of the thousands upon thousands of spectators was overwhelming. I’m so pleased I finished what I set out to do and feel I have done my father proud.”
Michael Dandridge was 82 when he died from an inoperable glioblastoma last November, following a stroke. He had previously survived kidney cancer.
“Dad accepted his prognosis,” she says. “But I burst into tears when the doctors said there was nothing they could do.
“From that moment I gave up my whole life and vowed to look after him.
“I am also profoundly deaf. Caring for dad round-the-clock was tough. I had hearing aid and gave him a device that vibrated to get my attention — but he rarely used it.”
The 48-year-old mum quit her job running art sessions for adults with learning difficulties and became his full-time carer in his final weeks.
Rebecca moved away from Harrow for a while to look after her dad in his own home in Chichester and saw her husband David Walker only at weekends on his four-hour round trips to Sussex.
She has so far raised more than £1,400 for Brain Tumour Research at www.justgiving.com/page/rebecca-walker-1709896520275, and says the support her father gave her in childhood inspired her choice of a sponsored swim.
“Dad watched me swimming in competitions when I was younger,” Rebecca recalls. “I got back in the water during the two-and-a-half months I cared for him at the end of his life, to do something in his memory.”
Brain Tumour Research receives little funding compared to other cancers, the charity says.
Just 12 out of every hundred people who are diagnosed survive beyond five years, compared to more than half from other forms of cancer. Yet just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research goes to fighting brain tumours.
The charity’s Charlie Allsebrook said: “Michael’s story is a reminder that brain tumours are indiscriminate and can affect anyone at any age. Rebecca’s swimming challenge will help get a little closer to better treatments and eventually a cure.”
The charity campaigns for more funding for new treatments and ultimately to find a cure. It calls for a national annual spend of £35 million to improve survival rates.
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