 As if Pete and Julia Nash had not gone through enough already, the couple have now been forced to sell their house after crippling debts became too much. As My Abbots readers will be aware by now, Pete Nash required life saving surgery on his brain earlier this year, with the local Primary Care Trust (PCT) refusing to fund the necessary treatment because of the risks involved. Pete has not worked for over two years and Julia took time off work to look after him and fundraise, so no money had been earned in that time. Pete has lost sleep because of the worry and the couple have now decided that after all they have been through, it is time to sell up and be left with something after paying off their debts. Julia told My Abbots: “We don’t know where we’re going at the moment. Our youngest, Benn, still has a year at school so we won’t be moving far.” As well as everything the Nash’s have had to go through, they also had bad news concerning their son Peter. A Tumour was found in his leg, shortly before Pete was to have his first operation. Julia said: “We were obviously very worried, but Peter didn’t want us to tell anyone as he was worried nobody would believe him. ‘How could one family go through so much’ was his thinking, so we kept it private.” Peter had the tumour removed in July and found that it was benign, so all is well apart from a nasty scar in his leg. Pete is due to return to work in March, while Julia is hoping to make her fundraising duties with Pete’s Fund full time. The couple are due to go and see Pete’s surgeon, Mr Porter, in November for his first check up since the last operation. Julia’s hope is to get a surgeon from the north and south to work alongside Mr Porter to obtain the training required to carry out the surgery Pete had. Julia said: “We’d like to help other people and discuss with Mr Porter how we can do that. There is nobody else in the country that can do the procedure and this was part of the reason Pete was refused funding. The PCT would not pay for him to go to Bristol.” Pete’s last operation took place a few months ago and he is making a good recovery, so much so that he was due to run the Abbots Tough 10 as this magazine went to print. He, wife Julia and all three of their sons are going to be involved in the event, with youngest son Benn participating in the 5km event.
Pete has now started to do some light training, around two miles of running each time he does exercise, which probably seemed a long way off when lying in his hospital bed for all those months. Wife Julia, who confesses to have done no training at all, will join her husband around the course along with other friends and family. Pete told My Abbots: “I’ll definitely finish the race. I had three years of being told I can’t train, so I’ve been a bit scared to push myself too hard. Julia added: “We’re going to run round together and we’ll get there even if we have to crawl some of it. We’re raising money for both Pete’s Fund and the Tough 10 which is good.” There to watch Pete cross the finish line will be Sky Television, who have been following the Nash’s progress for around a year. The documentary is due to be aired around December or January time and follows the family through their ordeal, including pictures of Pete in hospital.
Pete and Julia continue to fight the PCT’s stance on their refusal to reimburse the family for the cost of the surgery, but Julia admits that they have already lost everything. She said: “If the PCT had given us the funding we would not be losing our home. Their refusal meant the surgery was delayed over a year. They are ruining people’s lives.” The Nash’s are looking to continue fundraising, with Pete hopeful of competing in next year’s London Marathon, along with Julia. They also hope to do some mountain climbing as this was a family hobby before Pete got sick. They have conquered such tasks as Ben Nevis and Three Peaks, so hopefully that is something they can tackle once again. Pete and Julia are quick to thank everybody who has helped and donated money, and it is now their mission to help others. If anyone wishes to donate to Pete’s Fund and aid a remarkable family who want to help more people who suffer from Pete’s condition, visit the website at www.petesfund.co.uk.
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