100 Mile Row from Oxford to London – Joanna’s Story
09 Mar 2018
Joanna is a 19-year-old student studying engineering at Oxford University and she is also a local resident of Barnes. On October 18th 2016, Joanna’s father tragically passed away from brain cancer, shortly after his 55thbirthday.
In honour of her father and in aid to help research, Joanna has decided to undertake the challenge of rowing over 100 miles from Oxford to London, which is a fantastic yet arduous challenge. We have sponsored Joanna £100 and would love for everyone else to read her heart-rending story and get involved so that we can collectively help aid this significant breakthrough that we hope brain cancer is on the verge of.
Read Joanna’s story here…
Tim was an amazing man. He was a consultant gastroenterologist at Kingston Hospital in South West London for many years, and was much loved by his colleagues and patients. He made a wider public contribution on the Board of NHS Direct and then monitor the health regulator. He was also a Reader in health management at Imperial College London, where the staff so valued the way he supported his students that they have created the Tim Heymann student prize in his honour.
I have decided to undertake the challenge of rowing over 100 miles from London to Oxford. This is not done all that often, and is usually rowed in an eight but I am planning to row it by myself in a single skull. People tend to row from Oxford to London with the current but I will be rowing against it.
I will be doing this in the run up to the Oxford Cambridge boat race. I rowed in the Oxford Cambridge women’s lightweight boat race last year – it was my dream for many years to row in the boat race, and I was delighted to achieve this. I rowed at Putney High School before going to Oxford. I will start by rowing the boat race course, starting at Putney, and after completing this will continue the long row all the way to Oxford over three days. The official Oxford Cambridge boat race is also raising money for Cancer Research UK.
I am aiming to raise £20,000 to contribute to curing brain cancer, so others don’t have to suffer the way my dad and my family did. My parents were told by the cancer doctors that they think brain cancer is on the edge of a breakthrough. Other cancers have seen very significant improvements in life expectancy, and the same methods are now being applied to brain cancer, so this is a great time to be supporting this cause.
It is said that Tim was a loving and kind man with an altruistic nature. He is survived by his wife Amanda, and their three children, Theo, Jo and Nicholas.
From everyone at Open Doors & College and County, we wish Joanna the best of luck. Will you support Joanna and Cancer Research UK?
Get involved and click the link below to be directed to Joanna’s page to donate:
Fundraising link: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/jos-row