Twister_Ken
Well-known member
I didn’t know her as well as I would have liked, but I’m sure that Val Missen would have wanted us all to ‘go for it’, to follow our dreams now, not wait for the right time, for all our ducks to be in a row, for everything to fall into place. Because for Val - when everything fell into place for her to chase her dream - it was already too late.
She and Phil had ordered and bought a splendid new boat, equipped it to carry them long distances, and begun training themselves to sail beyond the horizon. It was only then that she discovered that she had developed mesothelioma (caused by asbestos given her to use by her employer), a disease which doesn’t become apparent until is well advanced, and from which, consequently, the chance of survival is nil.
Val’s illness was discovered shortly before the Scuttlebutt trip to Cherbourg in 2004, which she and Phil had planned to attend. They had to cancel, but Phil asked on her behalf if we could raise a little money for MacMillan Cancer Relief, because she expected to be making use of their services for the next few months. We did, and we were able to send over £1300 to the charity.
Val underwent radical surgery, having a lung removed. The operation and the therapy that followed were very tough, but telephone conversations with Val from her hospital bed, and later when she was able to return home, were uplifting. Her body may have been weakened, but her sense of fun was stronger than ever. She could laugh better and more frequently with one lung than most of us can with two.
It’s difficult to know, but the operation may have won her another year of life. It was a year in which she prepared Phil for life without her, insisting that he installed a bow-thruster on the boat, so that he could moor it more easily when, in the future, he would be sailing single-handed. To everyone she talked to she made the point that Phil must be encouraged to carry on sailing, and follow his dream, even if he was following it alone.
Val died on March 30th. I think she will have been disappointed not to have seen another April Fools day. When I asked Phil if he would mind me posting the news on the forum, he agreed, sending me this snippet.
“One thing you might like to include: they took away half her diaphragm in surgery (as well as a lot else) and replaced it with a Goretex patch; she jokingly maintained she wanted top of the range breathables so that she would be the only sailor who matched inside and out.”
Her funeral will be held at noon, on the 12th April. The sun will be – just – over the yardarm and she would have been pleased to know that, at that time, Scuttlebutters will raise a glass of something stronger than mineral water to celebrate her life.
Go for it.
She and Phil had ordered and bought a splendid new boat, equipped it to carry them long distances, and begun training themselves to sail beyond the horizon. It was only then that she discovered that she had developed mesothelioma (caused by asbestos given her to use by her employer), a disease which doesn’t become apparent until is well advanced, and from which, consequently, the chance of survival is nil.
Val’s illness was discovered shortly before the Scuttlebutt trip to Cherbourg in 2004, which she and Phil had planned to attend. They had to cancel, but Phil asked on her behalf if we could raise a little money for MacMillan Cancer Relief, because she expected to be making use of their services for the next few months. We did, and we were able to send over £1300 to the charity.
Val underwent radical surgery, having a lung removed. The operation and the therapy that followed were very tough, but telephone conversations with Val from her hospital bed, and later when she was able to return home, were uplifting. Her body may have been weakened, but her sense of fun was stronger than ever. She could laugh better and more frequently with one lung than most of us can with two.
It’s difficult to know, but the operation may have won her another year of life. It was a year in which she prepared Phil for life without her, insisting that he installed a bow-thruster on the boat, so that he could moor it more easily when, in the future, he would be sailing single-handed. To everyone she talked to she made the point that Phil must be encouraged to carry on sailing, and follow his dream, even if he was following it alone.
Val died on March 30th. I think she will have been disappointed not to have seen another April Fools day. When I asked Phil if he would mind me posting the news on the forum, he agreed, sending me this snippet.
“One thing you might like to include: they took away half her diaphragm in surgery (as well as a lot else) and replaced it with a Goretex patch; she jokingly maintained she wanted top of the range breathables so that she would be the only sailor who matched inside and out.”
Her funeral will be held at noon, on the 12th April. The sun will be – just – over the yardarm and she would have been pleased to know that, at that time, Scuttlebutters will raise a glass of something stronger than mineral water to celebrate her life.
Go for it.
