Jennifer digs deep on China challenge

A MAMMOTH challenge which saw a Lydgate pensioner walk for up to eight hours a day on the Great Wall of China, is helping her fight her own personal demons.

Jennifer Greenwood took on the feat with lifelong pal Mags Davies to raise money for research into a disease which took the life of her twin son, Gareth.

Here she talks to Marina Berry about her experience, and the driving force behind her determination to succeed.


THE Great Wall of China challenge pushed the money raised by Jennifer and her supporters past £15,000, which means Gareth can have his own engraved leaf on the Tree of Hope at the Christie Hospital, Manchester.

“That is so important to me,” said his mother. “It’s just a case of having his name written down somewhere, of having him recognised and remembered.

“Gareth is in this family, and as long as I live he will be part of this family.”

Gareth, who has a twin, Philip, died of malignant melanoma, which spread so quickly it left his family reeling from the speed at which it took his life.

He was only 33 when he died in January, 2009, and his mother has pledged to raise money for research to prevent other families going through the same agony.

“Nothing can lessen my grief, but if I can help one more young person survive this terrible cancer, then that will be a small consolation,” she said.

“It seemed as if one minute Gareth was here, strong and determined, and the next he was gone. Losing him is still raw, but getting involved in fund-raising has helped us as a family to look forward.”

At 63, Jennifer, who broke a toe 14 days before the challenge began in October, and Mags, were among the oldest to take part in the seven-day trek.

They braved wind and snow and freezing temperatures, climbed 12,000 steps, and braved a terrifying high-level walk on a narrow path.

Jubilant from their success, Jennifer admitted the first day was horrendous, and she felt she couldn’t go on.

But the support she received from her fellow walkers, who all had their own special reasons for being there, gave her the strength she needed.

“I have never met a more generous in spirit group of people,” said Jennifer.

“There were 33 of us in the group, and our leader also had a twin who had died.

“I took both as a sign from Gareth that I was doing right, because he was 33 when he died, and he was a twin.”

Jennifer had been unsure about taking on the challenge even before they arrived in a cold and fog-shrouded Beijing. “They said it would be late summer and to bring a fleece, but it was freezing and snowing,” recalled Jennifer.

“I ended up wearing three T-shirts, a naff Great Wall of China hat and borrowed gloves.

“I started the walk with no confidence at all, I was very cold, the ice was very slippery, and you could see the wall going for miles into the distance.

“I really hadn’t wanted to do it. When I got the train at Piccadilly in Manchester I was crying, my husband Chris had to push me out of the car.”

However, Jennifer dug deep to get the courage to go and now says: “It helped me so much, I think Gareth was behind it and was helping me in his way.”

Jennifer’s despondency slowly turned into pleasure, although she admits it was tough.

“I started to enjoy it and in the evenings we were encouraged to talk about why we were there. I got upset but I carried on, with Mags, because I wanted people to know the insidiousness of malignant melanoma.

“It is the fastest increasing cancer, and with Gareth it quickly spread to his lymph nodes then to his liver and his lungs.

“We were told on December 17, 2008, it had spread, and he died on January 3.

“He thought he had 12 months — we never asked the question. Your world just comes to an end.

“Gareth said he wanted to go to Thailand and Cambodia and go fishing before he died, but he never got the chance.”

Jennifer recalled: “It was hard to say goodbye to everyone on the walk. We had been through so much together.

“It’s two years since Gareth died and people expect you to get over it. On the walk I could talk about him with people who had their own stories to tell, and it really helped.”

Jennifer and Mags raised £6,665, and paid £2,000 each of their own money to do it.

“We could just have given £2,000 each to the charity, but that wasn’t the point,” said Jennifer. “I was doing it for Gareth, to raise awareness of malignant melanoma and its symptoms, to tell people they must see their doctor if they have a mole that changes.”

Jennifer has offered to talk to local groups about her walk to raise awareness of malignant melanoma. She can be contacted on 01457-877935.