Hi everyone,

Well not before time, 13 years to be precise, i have always felt the need to write my story since i had my brain tumour diagnosed in November 1996. I remember it well ,my consultant sat me down with my husband and told me i would have to be admitted to hospital for a biopsy to determine the type of tumour i had .

At first i couldn`t quite take it all in,i had never in nearly 40 years been ill or in hospital except to have my two sons,and now i was being told i had a "brain tumour" only days after i had a routine eye test at my local opticians.

I had recently become a Special Constable with Dyfed Powis Police after a year `s voluntary work in my local police station and a year and a half of getting fit to pass the fitness test after failing first time but third time past fitness and aptitude test. This was a huge achievement for me after being home with my husband who was ill for years with depression and bringing up my two sons .I just felt it was "ME" time and i wanted to do something with my life and had always wanted to join the police force.

I felt very proud when i went on my first shift in my police uniform and by the way this is the reason why i had my eye test , it was a routine eye test needed after i applied for the job as a special constable.

It was only when i re-applied to be a regular officer and i had to disclose i had been into hospital to have a biopsy etc everything kicked off with my consultant and the force doctor.

The phone call i recieved from my consultant telling me i could no longer work as a special constable was the turning point of my life leaving me with the feeling i had a disability ,i had never been told i cannot do anthing in my life and to have something taken away from me after alot of hard work was the worst feeling i had ever experienced and then i lost a close friend from a brain tumour , he had an agressive /high grade brain tumour and i made the decision from that moment on not to let this "thing" in my head disable me and ruin my life instead i was going to use it and turn it around in a positive way and make it help me raise lots of money for Cancer Research. It would also be the start of making me a stronger and more positive person than i had ever been in my life.

I left the consultants room calmly and looked at my husband and started to cry , from behind i could hear a door open and when i looked around i could see my consultant standing there with his hand held out calling me back into the room and he simply held me and gave me a hug .

It was after that i seemed to take it all in my stride ,everything seemed to happen so quickly ,the next thing i knew i was lying in a hospital bed waiting for a biopsy .After i had the biopsy ,my consultant and his team told me i would have to go back for more surgery to have the tumour removed but then they were concerned because the tumour is next to the pituitary gland the most important gland in the body basically the control centre beneath the brain ,surgery would have meant i could of lost some of my mobility and the chances were i may even have become blind or visually impaired ,the next day my consultant made the decision not to operate and remove the tumour but leave the tumour in my head and monitor the growth with MRI scans ,basically my consultant can`t tell me how quickly it is growing ,it may not grow anymore he just doesn`t know .

When it was finally decided it was far too risky for me to have the tumour removed because it is a low graded tumour (and because my consultant cannot tell me if it was has been there since i was born or wether it is growing extremely slowly ,nobody knows the answer to this question)the shunt that was inserted when i had the biopsy would be there for me and act as a drainage system allowing fluid to flow freely around my head and then the tumour shouldn`t pose a threat to me unless it starts to grow again , anyway my consultant was happy (and me) that i didn`t have another operation to remove the tumour ,the shunt would therefore be suffice to keep me out of any danger . This was great news because my biggest fear was having radiotherapy and losing my hair .

There was only one day i felt sorry for myself and that was when i was told i would have to ring for a nurse everytime i needed to use the bed pan!!!! I remember i wouldn`t allow anyone to come into the hospital to see me that day so they wouldn`t see me upset. I was very lucky i had a gorgeous team of doctors and one spent that evening when i was feeling very sorry for myself talking about everything but tumours !!!

It was far more stressful for my two sons and my husband .

I know my positive attitude has helped me and after 3 years of annual MRI scans i have now been totally forgotten by my consultant and most people that have shunts experience problems such as blockages but i have never had any problems . I feel slightly bionic with a lump at the base of my head where the valve sits ,and that is where they would have to go in if my shunt should ever block and the tube that goes from the top of my head to my stomache is noticeable in my neck and on my chest because i have no fat to hide it ,i suppose it looks like a long vein , other than that i look and feel quite "normal".....ha ha !!

I was back on my bike a week after i left hospital as if nothing had happened ,i think i have always been in denial of this "thing"in my head and only talk about it when i need to use it to raise lots of money for charity!

The only words i have never googled are "brain tumour".....i suppose i`m in denial and i just don`t have the time !!

SUNDAY 25TH AUGUST 2001 at 43 years old i set myself my first challenge which was to swim ,cycle and run in a LONDON TRIATHLON and i promised to raise a thousand pounds but thanks to the support of the Pembrokeshire people i raised £2,500 for Cancer Research. At the time i was living in Narberth ,Pembrokeshire and i approached all the local buisness people in the area. I also had huge support from my local newspaper The Western Telegraph and the journalist Ruth Davies who is still working for the newspaper and would always write a good story for me so that i would gain as much support as posssible .

As part of my training at 7.00 in the morning i would swim 20 lengths at my local pool then afterwards cycle a couple of miles to an unused airfield where the army do alot of their training and i would run 3 miles around it while the Army boys looked bemused at this crazy woman !!!!

Judy ,the wife of my friend who died of a brain tumour came with me to London on the day of the challenge to support me but promised never to go with me on a challenge again. I kept her up all night as i was so nervous and worried about the 750 kilometre swim in the Thames water that i couldn`t sleep ,i am not a very good swimmer and despite being a water sign i hate water!! Nevertheless the next day i put on my loaned wetsuit and joined all the super fit athletes and jumped in the water . After the swim i had to jump on my bike and cycle 20 kilometres and then get off and run 5 kilometres to the finish line .

My friend and i cried for joy when i finished , she said i was the only one that came out the water with a smile on my face !!!

3RD NOVEMBER 2002 THE NEW YORK MARATHON
I decide to chose this challenge because it would be a year after 9/11 that i would be going on a plane to New York and be running 26 miles from Staten Island to Mahatten. I felt it would gain me support which it did and i would also be supporting the New York people at a time when people were unbooking flights to this wonderful City!

I had fantastic support yet again from the people in Pembrokeshire ,the Dyfed Powis Police gave me their support and i had a letter saying this from the Chief Constable at the time Terence Grange and wishing me luck. I also had sponsorship of £500 from the newspaper in Cardiff the Western Mail where my friend who died of a brain tumour worked in advertising and they also sent me a letter saying they normally don`t do this but it was an exceptional case and wished me luck.

My optician that found my brain tumour also sponsored me and i recieved a cheque from Scott Quinnell a Welsh Rugby player.

I started to train for this challenge during the spring/summer months 2002 and would build up my runs from 3 miles to 6 miles to 9 miles and then i finally achieved my longest training run between 18 to 19 miles from Narberth through Red Roses and finally would end up with my feet in the sea at Amroth in Pembrokeshire.

I dreaded my long distance training runs and always felt sick before i started but once i was going i was OK. I got used to the "toilet stops" and would often have to run in a field to relieve myself, as any long distance runner will tell this is quite normal!

I trained really hard for this challenge and as a result i successfully finished it in quite good time for an "old girl"!!

I met up with other people who were running the New York marathon for Cancer Research with the Cancer Research organisers at the airport in London.

On the aeroplane one lady passenger started screaming and crying on take off due to the 9/11 tragedy and it was awful hearing her and scary !!

But i will always remember this challenge as my most memorable and favourite one so far and that was because the support from the people there was just amazing . I had a welsh flag around my waist and the welsh people living in New York just screamed my name out because of my flag and my name was on my T-shirt .

The firemen and fire engines lined the streets .

I ran from Staten Island and through every state in New York Harlem,Queens,Bronx,Brooklyn and finally Manhatten!!!

Each New York state had different types of music playing as you passed through and people dressed differently ,amazing ,had to pinch myself while i was running!

My time at 20 miles was 4 hours but i lost it a bit from there on and i started to hit the wall and finished the marathon finally in 5 hours and but felt great afterwards and even had enough energy to walk back to my hotel which the police helped me find because i got lost ,i was probably in a state of trauma ha ha !!!!!!

I raised £3,300 for Cancer Research .

2003/2004 FANCY DRESS XMAS FUN RUN ...ORGANISED BY ME AT OAKWOOD LEISURE PARK IN PEMBROKESHIRE.

In 2003 i had a brilliant idea in my head to involve people in the community and raise money for Cancer Research by getting them to dress up in Xmas fancy dress and have them run /walk 3 miles around Oakwood Leisure Park in Wales. I had a meeting with Zoe the marketing manager of Oakwood at the time and a community fundraiser for Cancer Research and after discussions we planned the 3 mile route around the park and set a date and time of the event on the 2nd of November at 11 a.m. it was to be called the Oakwood Xmas Fun Run.

Despite the weather which started with rain nearly a hundred people turned up in various costumes .

The Mayor of Narberth was there to start the event and it was a wonderful day .

Linda from Cancer Research helped to give out goodybags and prizes donated to me for everyone that made the effort to turn up . I managed to raise £5,000 for the West Wales Cancer Research Units ,including the unit at Withybush Hospital in Pembrokeshire.

I also had a very special prize for the most money raised by an individual at the event which was donated by a local buisness man to me .

This was a holiday from Seasons Holidays won by NFU Mutual but they decided to give it to a worthy individual a little boy called SHANE .

His mum was delighted to accept the prize and we had photos with the team who worked at NFU Mutual for the local newspaper .

(SHANE was recognised by Cancer Research for being "A little Star"during Children`s Cancer Awareness Month ).

The run was such a success for Cancer Research i promised i would organise another one the following year.

In 2003 i also took part in the Carmarthenshire Race for Life to support my friend who recently lost her dad to Cancer raising money for Cancer Research.

We did well and came in 30th position ,mind you most people walked it :)) It was a huge turn out and i was inspired by how well organised it was by Cancer Research.

I listen to Real Radio and always one to see an oppotunity i had a chat with Sarah the breakfast radio presenter at the time while she was on stage,i introduced myself to her with a request and had a quick chat about them coming to my Fun Run at Oakwood the following November .

At the time i knew they were eager for listeners from Pembrokeshire to tune into their station and i took advantage of this :)))

November 28th 2004 was to be one of my biggest achievement in my life .

After my first attempt at organising an event I knew i could make even bigger and better than the year before and that`s exactly how it turned out on the day !
The day started with rain yet again !!! But as my friend and i drove nearer to Oakwood the clouds opened up to blue skies and despite it being November it was warm and the sun finally came out and shined on us!

I started by putting balloons up everywhere this time and also had Xmas music playing around the park . I borrowed a stage for the presenters of Real Radio and put prizes on there for the best dressed.
My heart pounded when an hour before the run people were starting to turn up and drive down the long driveway towards the entrance of the park.

Out came all these people from their cars dressed up in fantastic costumes ,we had tarzen ,father xmas`s ,fairies, angels, xmas trees it was just absolutely amazing to see these people supporting me and Cancer Research.

Even my optician that detected my tumour was there with his buisness partner and his family .

He also sponsored me the medals for each runner that took part in the fun run.
I had a professional keep fit trainer warm everyone up before the run which was brilliant and great fun to watch especially the male fairies touching their toes.

We had nearly 200 runners/walkers in total turn up on this wonderful day ,a day i will remember for the rest of my life with much joy..

The event raised a staggering £6,916.20 for Cancer Research in Wales.

2005 GREAT BUPA NORTH RUN and raised money for Cancer Research but unable to remember how much!!

Quite a tough half marathon due to the undulating route in Gateshead , Southshields in Newcastle but i did enjoy it !

2006 THE LONDON MARATHON

I never really wanted to do the London Marathon but felt it just had to be done . So i started as usual by putting a story in the local newspaper with my mobile number for people to contact me if they wanted to sponsor me and within days i was lying in bed and i received a text from a man saying he wanted to help me , his name was Anthony and he was texting me from Ghana in Africa and was a commercial manager at a goldmine for a British company out there with with his wife Debbie who used to live in Tumble and he was from a village outside Carmarthen Llanon before they moved out to Ghana.

At first i thought i was dreaming but then i realised this was not a dream he had read my story on the Carmarthen Journal website in Ghana and true to his word he and the Ghanians raised over £600 ,even their families back home gave donations . At this time i didn`t have a computer and would ask a friend to download photos he sent from over in Africa of the ex -pats and ghanians .

I started training and would run from Llangunnor to Llanstephan as early as 5.00 in the morning because i would dread the long runs and it would still be dark as training was in the winter months but due to the mileage by the time i returned home it would be bright sunny daylight and on a bad day would be running for 4 hours and covering 18 miles .

I completed the London Marathon on a very wet day but due to weather and my training i found this a very tough challenge on the day . I really wished i had trained harder but was glad i finished it even though it took me nearly 6 hours!!!!!I was so disappointed at my time after New York but it was all about the taking part at the end of the day.

I really didn`t do enough training and as a result after i completed the London Marathon i had tendonitis and could barely walk on my right foot and i remember crying with the pain ,it was like my skin was tearing apart.

I tried to carry on running with friends telling me i would be a cripple if i didn`t stop so i went to the doctors and he told me there was a chance a steroid injection would help cure the problem and i would be able to run again .

He showed me the needle and i nearly died but after he put it in the arch of my foot and i screamed and swore (I did apologise afterwards) i was a very happy bunny again !!

Within a day i was running 3 miles on a regular basis again and i only get a warning sign these days if i overdo it and in very cold wet weather .

I raised just over a £1,000.

I then started to think about my challenges and made a decision i would have to put a stop to marathon running and get on my bike to raise money for charity.

2007 THE RAGASTHAN TIGER CHALLENGE i took part in a 480 kiolmetre bike ride from DEHLI to JAPUIR where roads were mostly rubble and sand ,this was to be my first cycle challenge !

I approached a high school for help and walked into a room of 11 Headteachers and gave a presentation to gain their support .

We arranged a relay in the 11 different schools which raised £1,800 towards my target thanks to headteacher of QEHS in Carmarthen .

My cycle challenge started in Dehli with 10 other people and my organisers Charitychallenge . My initial shock at seeing the poorest of people begging and lying around the train station was difficult for me and the smell was awful. I could see local people crammed into carriages on trains like animals while we were the lucky ones to have seats in our carriage . We were then taken to the hotel where we were to stay the night and i was feeling like going back home already ,there was no hot water and the "bathroom" was filthy dirty althogh the room was adequate. My room partner Sandra had been to Peru and Africa and was well used to this experience and helped me to overcome my homesickness.

In the end i made a decision to stop moaning and feeling sorry for myself and get on with the challenge ahead of me .

The following day we visited the city Agra and the Taj Mahal and then we were ready to start our journey by bike to Japuir.

We would start the journey on our bikes in very cold misty weather between 5 and 6 in the morning and then it would become extremely hot.

The mad traffic of tuk tuk`s ,bicycles ,stray cows ,donkey`s and camels pulling carts was something i will never forget!!

It was completely mad if you didn`t get out the way when something approached you then you would know about it and we were forced off the road onto rubble constantly. The people were fantastic and would welcome us everywhere we would go and children on their way to school with neatly combed back hair in their uniforms would call out to us and this kept us going. Although they were poor the children would always look neat and tidy for school . Toilet stops were a nightmare because it didn`t matter where we were in the middle of nowhere people would emerge from the fields and watch us in amazement as we crouched down behind a bush.

Each hotel we stopped at on our journey i would ask myself i wonder if it will get better, the answer was no!!

One place as soon as we arrived i thought brilliant we have electric ,then as soon as we put the hairdryers on the electric just couldn`t cope and off it went!

Also the sockets would just come away from the wall ,got used to that eventually !

I was one of five out of the ten people to finish the challenge due to sickness and a couple were not physically up to the challenge so they gave up pretty early day 3 in fact !

Some days we cycled approx40 miles but on the last two days we cycled 140 miles on undulating and difficult road surfaces and at times no road just rubble through remote villages and i really to this day do not know how i did it!

It was a wonderful feeling reaching the city of Japuir

By the last two days i developed the "Dehli cough" and i coughed constantly while i was cycling with a scarf around my face to stop the dust getting into my throat .

I was too ill to go to the presentation evening of the medals and I consumed endless throat sweets in bed .

It stayed with me until i arrived home and i ended up in bed all over the Xmas period ,i was very ill and had lost so much weight ,my wrists were bruised from the impact of cycling on such uneven surfaces that were at times unbelievable !!!

I eventually went to the doctors for antibiotics but it took me a good 6 weeks to get back to my normal self again but it was well worth it !

I raised £3,000 for Cancer Research.

2008 THE LONDON TO PARIS CYCLE CHALLENGE (a 320 kilometre cycle ride )

I will cycle nearly 200 miles over three days in two countries

I decided after finding a lump in my breast to raise money for Breast Cancer Campaign for the first time . Lucky for me my lump was not cancer.

Sitting in the breast care unit at my hospital is an experience i will never forget and it is the second time now i have had to do this and will probably happen again due to my age . It is the most awful feeling not knowing if a breast lump is cancer .

I am so glad i helped raise £1,500 for Breast Cancer Campaign and i did this with the help of students at Trinity College nearby where i live .

This was the year of my 50th birthday and i would celebrate it at the foot of the Eiffel Tower with a glass of champagne after i completed this challenge.

This challenge began in London where i met 22 other cyclists and the organisers of Charitychallenge near the Tower Bridge .

We then set off on the first stage of our ride to catch the ferry fron Newhaven to Dieppe.

This journey was all about time and the other cyclists were pacing themselves well ahead of me and i found it difficult to keep up the pace ,these were serous cyclists and i wasn`t !!

Unlike India where we more or less kept together this crowd were raring to go and they weren`t going to wait for me!!

I felt unhappy with the speed and it was all because of the time of catching the ferry over to France ,if i`d known this i would not of done the challenge as i felt alot of pressure on me to go faster .

I also had a mountain bike with road tyres so it was a heavy bike where they had deluxe road bikes equipped for this challenge

One hill was virtually straight and i had to be put on the van going up because i was slowing everyone up and we wouldn`t have made it to the ferry in time and i felt i had failed and was quite upset but apart from that one hill i succeeded in completeing the challenge .

This challenge was probably tougher than India and that`s saying something due to the pace i which we were cycling or the others i should say!!

They were really pushing themselves to their limits and eventually a few started to feel sick when we were in France .

I absolutely loved the route in France through villages in the middle of nowhere but each time we had water and food stops i would arrive when everyone was ready to go so i had shorter time than the others to gain strength and the energy to carry on !!

My favourite moment is when we reached Paris and a couple of people had punctures and i was left to follow the signs to the Eiffel Tower on my own and i kept wanting to pinch myself as i was cycling through the streets of Paris with fast traffic either side of me and managing to cope with it and felt just great !!

The best moment of all was seeing the top of the Eiffel Tower towering above the tall tree lined streets and knowing i was nearly at the end of my challenge .When i arrived where the group were waiting for me ,they all cheered :)

We had all stopped together about a 100 yards before the tower and then as a group we cycled towards the Eiffel Tower together cheering on the way .

Then when we arrived after burning up 16,000 calories and cycling 188 miles in approx 19 hours we drank a glass of champagne to celebrate!!

SEPTEMBER 12TH 2009 i will be trekking THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA for people with an eye disease RETINITIS PIGMENTOSA .

This is a genetic eye disease that can result in blindness . My main concern when i met a person with this eye disease was that i had never heard of it ,i then decided to set up a group on facebook to see if i could find other people with RETINITIS PIGMENTOSA.

It was incredible to watch people with RP joining the group and i now have nearly 3,000 members from all around the world !

(If you meet someone with Retinitis Pigmentosa please give them the link to the support group on the video )

I raised money by collecting with a bucket outside Woolworths in my hometown , i also had help and support from students at Carmarthenshire College who organised a dance to raise money!

A friends daughter and i also did the Boxing Day Swim 2008 and i had the support from the Tenby Sea Swimming Association who gave me a cheque of £600 , also a friend of mine Headteacher Mr Perkins at Templeton Junior School and the children there raised money which was split between two charities and the school handed me a cheque of £71.60p to help people with RP.

I huge thankyou has to be said to a very special friend of mine Margaret Challoner her help and support was just amazing and i couldn`t of done it without her,i met Margaret on the internet site Facebook after setting up the support group , her son has RP and because of this she helped me with questions being asked by people joining the group in desperate need of help and support as i like many people had never heard of it!

We also met for the first time at a charity concert i organised in my hometown Carmarthen in Wales.

Thankyou to also to everyone that sponsored me online !X

It gave me so much pleasure to see i was making an difference to the lifes of these people who were losing their sight .

One lady in particular i will always remember is Theresa Lockhart who lives in Canada ,she was so depressed and lonely but since she joined then facebook group her world turned around ,she became positive after meeting new friends who were going through exactly the same journey ,Theresa who has RP has two children and this is a cruel disease ,it is genetic ,but she is remaining positive and she lives in hope there will one day be a cure , in the meantime Theresa and her family are happy and living life to the full!:)

I eventually raised £2,695.00!

My journey and challenge began with my friend Jan at Heathrow Airport , we met up with the rest of the group taking part in the Great Wall of China Challenge with charity challenge the organisers. There were 23 of us altogether including the Expedtion Leader Jenny.

Our trek started at Dragon Pools National Park to warm us up for what was to come next!

The Great Wall is breathetaking and the steepness and of the steps was amazing ,i will NEVER forget all those steps we had to climb ,mostly crumbling beneath our feet!

We trekked for miles each day approximately 70 kms in total over 5 days in very hot conditions with nowhere to shade until we reached one of the towers , it will remain one of the most memorable challenges i have ever done,China/Bejing was an absolute amazing place !!

It wasn`t the most challenging challenge for me ,only the food and accomodation YUK !!!:( But the culture shock is all part of the challenge :)

I was proud of my friend Jan , she is only small in height and the steps were very steep in places but she also suceeded to finish the challenge !

There were tears from people in the group due to the steepness and heat which was unbearable at times ,we had no shelter from the sunshine and it was so hot!

Myself from Wales ,Laura from Ireland and Annie from England reached the top of the very last tower at the end of our journey:)

An Amazing challenge completed and as a result it has helped people with RP !!

On the 24th of September 2010 i will be taking part in my next challenge The Three Peaks .

My three peaks challenge takes me on the the highest mountains in Scotland,England and Wales all within 24 hours.

The trek covers 40 kilometres and involves 2,984m of ascent and descent .

My 24 hour trek begins in Scotland on the 24th September: Glen Nevis Valley.From here i will climb Ben Nevis,the largest mountain in the UK standing at 1,344m,i will trek into night by head torches .On descending Ben Nevis i will be driven through the night to the Lake District.

Once i arrive at the Lakes i will begin to climb the second of my Three Peaks -Scafell Pike: the highest mountain in England standing at 978m.

My final challenge takes me on the highest mountain in Wales;Snowdon,standing at 1,085m,Snowdon or Yr Wyddfa in welsh,this will be the end of my Three Peaks Challenge

http://www.justgiving.com/Jackie-Meek

Sunday 27th June

3 weeks ago i broke my little toe in work so training came to a bit of a standstill ,but the good news is i have started to run again in the mornings . The problem at the moment with the break is i can`t wear shoes without a little pain so avoid them when not running .I`m sure it will heal in time for the challenge .

I have reached £700 in fundraising but need another £300 so i will have to get my arse into gear now because i have to send £800 off in a couple of weeks to the charity as agreed ,alot of it with me is time ,i don`t have a problem collecting money ,i always get alot of support from people where i live.It will be done so not worrying too much :)