With his pain now managed, Jack was able to take his family on a memory-making trip to Lapland in March this year – complete with husky rides, reindeer sleighs and sleeping in a glass-roofed igloo with Claire and the kids.

“Jack was well enough to do the big stuff,” Claire beams. “And we all lay in bed together watching the Northern Lights in the sky. The children haven’t stopped talking about it.”

“That means everything to me,” Jackie shares. “To know I helped Jack achieve that.”

---

Donate now: Click here to say 'yes' to supporting Mountbatten Isle of Wight today.

---

Sliding doors.

Claire and Connie have also received support from Mountbatten’s psychology services team, helping them navigate their feelings about Jack’s illness and how it affects them all as a family.

“We try to find the beauty in something that doesn't feel beautiful,” she says. “Because of Mountbatten, Jack is more carefree, and we’ve been able to get through this together. He’s back to being the Jack who mows the lawn and potters and fixes things. It might seem small, but those things are everything.”

Jack agrees.

“Mountbatten hasn't just given me more time,” he says. “Jane and Jackie have shown me how to enjoy it. They’ve allowed me to lift my head back up and actually live the day again.”

He often finds himself reflecting on how different his life might have been.

“I dare to wonder if there’s a version of me out there who didn't get cancer, but is just plodding away at his job, not having time for the kids,” Jack says. “This version of me – the one with cancer – has had these amazing adventures and is more present. This Jack picks my kids up from school nearly every day.

“I think that other Jack might be jealous of me.”

Click here to support Island families like Jack's today.

---

Your donation today ensures our expert teams can keep saying ‘yes’ to families like Jack’s – helping them live the life they have left to the fullest. Thank you.

< go back a page